


school friends

by dglrd



Category: SHINee, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Cute Jung Hoseok | J-Hope, Dancer Jung Hoseok | J-Hope, Dancer Park Jimin, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Insecure Kim Namjoon | Rap Monster, Jeon Jungkook Is Bad at Feelings, Jeon Jungkook Is a Sweetheart, Jeon Jungkook is Whipped, Jung Hoseok | J-Hope & Min Yoongi | Suga Are Best Friends, Kim Taehyung | V & Park Jimin Are Best Friends, Kim Taehyung | V Is a Little Shit, Kim Taehyung | V Is a Sweetheart, M/M, Min Yoongi | Suga Is Bad at Feelings, Min Yoongi | Suga Is Whipped, Min Yoongi | Suga is So Done, Park Jimin Is a Sweetheart, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Relationships, Producer Kim Namjoon | Rap Monster, Producer Min Yoongi | Suga, Shy Jeon Jungkook, Underground Rapper Kim Namjoon | Rap Monster
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-22
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-03-08 04:10:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 68
Words: 29,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13450269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dglrd/pseuds/dglrd
Summary: an AU where it's basically "what if BTS were at university together (and are closest friends only after they got there)"ORa work that consists of lots of fluffiness and probably will never be finished. almost has same amount of chapters as the number of members in nct





	1. Namjoon

Namjoon is the guy that is known as a nerd with a liking for music. 

The guy on campus that majors in philosophy and minors in musical production. 

He's probably the smartest guy in the apartment building. 

But beyond all of this, he's a great friend. He's a huge teddy bear with a heart of pure gold. In the same apartment building, he knows six other guys that go to the same university. 

But people don't see this side to him. They see him as the guy who stays in his room at night and makes loud music. They recognize him as the alarm clock from 15A. 

Which isn’t the truth. But why would the truth matter to them?

Why would they care?


	2. Seokjin

Girls see Seokjin as the hot guy with broad shoulders. Guys see him as a woman magnet and paint him as the target for when they’re feeling mildly to moderately pissed off. 

He majors in acting, but his main passion is cooking. The ladies fall for him like this, due to their liking for a guy that can cook. Whenever someone smells something good coming from flat 15B, they know that Seokjin’s making something. 

He's usually the quiet guy that's loved for his looks and not for his personality. But he always gets top grades and all the teachers adore him for his charm.

With his friends, Namjoon included, Seokjin is the life of the party. He tells the best jokes and is extremely protective of them. He can be fierce at times, but all the younger guys know he means well.

However, most people don't know this, and he's often the victim of bullying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ayy second chapter how bout dat


	3. Yoongi

People see Yoongi as...oh wait, barely anyone ever sees Yoongi. He's either in the campus studio, making music, or in his room, making music. There's also a high chance that he could be in the library studying for his next writing exam. If anyone happens to spot him, it is like seeing a blue moon, a lunar eclipse and a UFO in one day.

If anyone knows him or sees him, they've never chatted with him. He's very reserved and quiet, so he appears to be cold and/or standoffish. 

But his friends know that he's not like that. When they come to his humble abode of 16E, they know what he's truly like. He loves what he does and he loves his friends ~~because he does his friends~~. 

But otherwise, everyone's scared of Yoongi. By everyone, I mean the people in his Creative Writing course to the barista. He seems mean and they avoid him as a result. 

Which can cause loneliness.


	4. Hoseok

Everyone knows Hoseok. They see him as a crazy ray of sunshine. A ray of sunshine that doesn't have much in his head. 

They see him as a complete contrast to his roommate, Yoongi. If Yoongi likes coffee, Hoseok likes tea. If Yoongi likes chess, Hoseok likes Baduk. This list could technically go on forever, but we’ll cut it short here. 

His friends know that he's very smart in his architecture classes, as well as extremely passionate for dance. He's also extremely humble, meaning that his capabilities are well hidden. 

So, most people are unaware that there's more to Hoseok than happiness. And their comments also mean that happiness isn't the only emotion Hoseok feels.


	5. Jimin

Okay, let's be real - everyone knows Jimin. And by that, I mean that all students and teachers know who he is if you say his name. More importantly, everyone likes Jimin. Teachers like him for his talent and students love him for his kind and sincere personality.

It's a belief that Jimin has no internal struggles as his happiness reflects through his smile. They think that Jimin is flawless when he walks with perfect posture, running his thin fingers through his bright pink hair. They don't think that the guy has hobbies other than dancing. 

But his friends know the truth - especially his fellow inhabitants of flat 12D. They know about his weight loss, his internalized biphobia, his work to get a dance scholarship, his passion for dancing, his admiration for Hamilton, his craving for reading what he calls ‘sophisticated’ novels (books with as many pages as Jungkook’s ring binder)...they know it all. 

Since no one else does, though, it's a lot of stress for the young guy.


	6. Taehyung

The kid with a boxy smile? Oh, him! Taehyung is known for his boxy smile and his strange habits. 

Sometimes, people are weirded out by him so they avoid him. 

However, only his friends, such as his roommate Jimin, know that his habits are something that he's got to do in order to feel complete. They know that he needs to poke the gigantic teddy bear downstairs exactly three times before he can ride the subway. They know that he has to rinse his face exactly four times before he can enter the house. They know that he has to recheck his coding seventeen times before he can click enter and turn in the work. Nothing more, nothing less. That's the way Taehyung works. 

But to the whole wide world, Taehyung simply seems odd and weird. Sometimes, they say he's creepy, even though he's an absolute sweetheart. And then Taehyung feels sad.


	7. Jungkook

Jungkook seems like a pushover. He's quiet and never says much. 

They think that Jungkook’s stupid, but he's not. He's the best in his Law class in mock trials, because he's usually the one that prepares two hundred pages for the case. He has a GPA of 4.0 if he can keep his anxiety away. But he never says anything, really. He's always in the real world; never drifting off into Jungkook World. Even to his two roommates, Jimin and Taehyung, he's usually the one who's listening rather than joining in the bicker about whether they should play Overwatch or Halo. Actually, scrap that. Jungkook will defend Overwatch relentlessly. 

His friends know the anxiety that overcomes him when he's forced to speak. They know the few seconds of panic when he has to say something. They don't try to force him to speak. 

But in a world that only accommodates for the talkative, Jungkook can barely stay afloat


	8. A Friday Afternoon

Taehyung checks his watch, waiting for exactly 4:39 pm to hit. He cannot leave the computer lab until he finishes exactly eight hours of work. He wants to go see his friends, but he has to hit eight hours before he can leave. 

His watch beeps. He saves his work, shuts down the computer and leaves the room. 

Somewhere across the school, Jimin and Hoseok are dancing away. Over a break, Hoseok asks Jimin about his upcoming Judo match. Jimin and Jungkook both do Judo and both of them have always wanted to go against each other in a match, but their weight classes have never been the same. One time, they were the same, but Jungkook came down with the flu and couldn't do it. 

“I'm in the featherweight category again this season. I wish that Kook and I could be in the same category,” Jimin says. Hoseok pats his shoulder empathetically, knowing what it's like to go through difficulties beyond his control. 

“We should probably get going,” Hoseok says, checking the time. Together, they leave the dance studio. 

Jimin is a dance scholar at the school. Coming from a poor background, he enlisted in a dance competition and won a scholarship here. He has been dancing since he was twelve and adores it. 

Hoseok dances for fun. He's pretty good at it, actually, seeing as his friends taught him how. Even though he majors in architecture, he always comes to dance practice after school hours to practice with Jimin. 

In another area of the school, Jungkook is drafting up the 29th page of a mock trial. He is often thought to be stupid since he never talks, but he's actually smarter and more eloquent than most students in the school. His coursemates usually prepare up to fifty pages of preparation for a trial, but he's got an average of two hundred pages that he prepares. He spends endless nights practising his speeches, and his beautiful voice shocks everyone every time he speaks. 

As he finishes typing up the fifth point in the case, he saves his work and checks his phone. It is time to go up to Yoongi and Hoseok’s flat for Friday night drinks. It is a tradition that the seven boys always have alcohol on Friday evenings, play Dungeons and Dragons and play Truth or Dare. These nights usually come to an end at four in the morning, where everyone stumbles back to their rooms and collapses into bed. Everyone has a very specific drink preference. Namjoon chooses whiskey, Seokjin likes his gin and tonic (the pun was intended), Yoongi favours wine, Hoseok picks vodka, Jimin drinks soju, Taehyung selects rum and Jungkook takes a beer. Of course, Jungkook tends to ‘accidentally’ sip Jimin’s soju. Jimin doesn't mind; he's fine if Jungkook drinks his entire bottle. Actually, he wouldn't be, because Jungkook would not be able to sleep that evening and would probably throw up nonstop, right next to Jimin’s pillow. (Yes, near his pillow. More on that later.)

When they party together, Hoseok, Seokjin and Taehyung are entertaining everyone else. Jimin is usually laughing his head off, Jungkook is laughing shyly, Yoongi is questioning why he knows them and Namjoon is probably doing some batshit crazy stuff to make Yoongi laugh. It's a ridiculous sight to see, but they all love each other because that's their family dynamic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm not in the best mood so please forgive me if this was a bad chapter
> 
> reviews appreciated, thank you!


	9. Sleeping Habits

In the flat 12D, the three maknaes do the weirdest things to fall asleep. 

For one, Jimin usually sleeps in the bathtub, owing to the fact that it's the only place that doesn't get warm if he lies there for too long. His pillow and blanket are usually in there. 

Taehyung screams in his sleep and also kicks whoever is unfortunate to be next to him. In fact, this is partially the reason why Jimin sleeps in the bathtub. Taehyung also tosses and turns a lot, creating a lot of noise. 

But the noisiest person when it comes to sleeping is Jungkook. Yes, he is quiet by day, but by night, he is loud as hell and it drives his two hyungs up the wall. He's not necessary noisy in a way that he yells (there have been times when that happened, though), but the objects he touches are always used to be loud. 

Number one: he's always listening to ASMR videos at top volume on high-quality Bluetooth speakers. Yoongi made the awful mistake of purchasing these professional gadgets for Jungkook’s birthday present, and poor Jimin and Taehyung have been listening to this for several months now. 

“You want me to play Ring Ding Dong on the kazoo at two in the morning, then?” Jungkook often says in defence of the speakers. He doesn't speak much, but when he does, his quotes are absolutely golden. This line often shuts his hyungs up, and as Taehyung says, it's Maknae On Top again. 

Before Yoongi got Jungkook the speakers, the kid indeed played songs on the kazoo in the middle of the night. Aside from Ring Ding Dong, he also played Bang Bang Bang and any other loud song at night. The first few times he played the kazoo, it sounded like a freight train running through the dorm. As time went on, the sound got even more annoying and finally drove Jimin to the bathtub. The day before Jungkook’s birthday, Taehyung ended up throwing a pillow across the room and stated that he wished that he was under the freight train. That shut the kid up for about five seconds before he started playing again. When Yoongi successfully distracted Kook with a new source of annoyance, Taehyung placed the kazoo somewhere in an unknown location. 

Since then, Jungkook still hasn't found his kazoo, but he still likes to make this threat, since there's an instrument shop down the road just for bored and broke university students, exactly like Kookie. 

It hasn't happened yet, but the day that Kook goes down the road with 10 000 won will also be the day where Jimin will throw his Hamilton poster at him and where Taehyung will snap the Overwatch disc. 

That day hasn’t happened yet and the boys all hope that it never happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> first of all, kook is me. ASMR for the win kids.
> 
> also the 'ring ding dong on kazoo' is there because I saw a tweet saying that Jonghyun's in heaven playing ring ding dong on the kazoo right now <3


	10. Creep

Without looking back, Seokjin already knows he's being followed by a stranger. It's not any of his friends, and it's not Jimin’s boyfriend. It is the silhouette of a tall, muscular man. He can hear the sounds of leather being swished as he walks. Seokjin speeds up his pace. Leather Jacket Man matches his speed. Seokjin increases his pace until he's practically running into the lift. 

Jin loves the lift but damn the lift. It is like a mouse trap: Leather Jacket Man is a cat and he's but a goddamn puny little mouse. As Leather Jacket Man goes up closer to Jin, he can smell a trace of cigarettes and beer. 

“W-who are you?” is the first and only thing that Seokjin can stammer. 

“Never mind that,” Leather Jacket Man says, lifting Jin up by the neck and pinning him to the wall. “No need to ask who you are, Woman Magnet.” 

“Put me down,” Jin chokes out after a moment of tense silence. 

“Put me down,” Leather Jacket Man mocks Jin’s voice. “I'll put you down...like how they put dogs down.” His jaw is clenched and he looks ready to kill. He bares his teeth at Jin. Seokjin forces himself to keep a straight face as he notices that Leather Jacket Man has spinach stuck between his teeth. 

The lift doors open after what feels like an endless lift journey. But Leather Jacket Man doesn't get out of the lift. Instead, a slender figure that happens to look like Jimin’s boyfriend enters. 

“Whoops, this is going up- What the hell are you doing to him? Put him down!” he demands. 

“Get lost, Taemin. You're another useless piece of garbage, aren't you? Yeah, I've seen you in that business course,” Leather Jacket Man jeers, cracking his knuckles as a way to intimidate the two other guys in the lift. 

“Put him down, or you will regret it,” Taemin says firmly, not looking away or blinking. Jin admires his bravery but feels that Taemin is extremely stupid to mess with Leather Jacket Man. 

“Ooh, I'm so scared. What are you gonna do to me, plié me to death?” Leather Jacket Man says in mock fear. Taemin does not lose confidence. Instead, he appears to get an energy boost. 

“No, but I will royally kick your ass to the ground and you will regret it,” Taemin states. Though it doesn't seem like he has much strength, he still has a considerable fire in his eyes that seems like a glint of hope. Leather Jacket Man drops Seokjin. 

“Remember what I said. You better not steal any more of my girlfriends, or I'll...you'll regret it,” he thunders when the lift arrives at his floor, storming out of the lift. Trembling head to toe, Seokjin doesn't know what to do except for thank Taemin. Which he does at a profuse rate. 

“Don't mention it,” Taemin says when they get to the 13th floor. He pulls his hood over his electric blue hair and leaves the elevator.

Jin barely knows Taemin aside from the fact that he and Jimin are dating, but he seems cool. He approves of Jimin’s choice.


	11. Taemin

Who is Taemin? Aside from the guy that probably overdoses on coffee twice a day, he’s the school’s best dancer and the resident hot dude. 

Until recently, he’s been quite lonely. But since he met Jimin, that’s changed everything. He now has friends that he considers family. 

Especially since he has no real family of his own. No, they’re not dead. They just disowned him and left him to fend for himself at a young age. 

His parents...let’s not talk too much about them, since I put this work at a ‘teen and up' rating. Let’s just say that they’re drug addicts. They were drug addicts, still are drug addicts and probably will be drug addicts forever.

If they were taking drugs while making Taemin (and they were), then that leaves their son with a ton of issues. If little Taemin was raised under abuse, then that leaves him with a ton of issues.

And he was subjected to both.


	12. Dinner

Namjoon likes Seokjin’s cooking. He's a particular fan of the pasta that his neighbour makes, so whenever it's spaghetti night, Jin calls him over. 

Yoongi is underweight, but that's because of his metabolism that everyone's jealous of. The only dish that he and Hoseok can throw together is a quick fried rice which is composed of cold vegetables, scrambled eggs and some rice. 

As for the Maknae Trio, having three of them means that dinner plans are always complicated. Jimin usually has little to no appetite, so his two best friends often make something quick while Jimin will have bread or something. For example, Taehyung will make sandwiches with ham inside for himself and Jungkook, while Jimin will make himself a sandwich with nothing inside it.

And then there’s always the date nights between Jimin and Taemin every Wednesday evening when the two of them share a cup noodle or something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm so sorry this was more of a filler chapter than anything else. juicy chapter coming up next ;)


	13. I like...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i mean i said this chapter will be juicy but this just builds up for juiciness

Taehyung has been thinking about this night and day. 

Taehyung has been thinking about this day and night.

Taehyung has thought about it so much that he tripped on the front doorstep and now has a nasty cut on his lower lip.

Taehyung has been thinking about it so much that he thinks about thinking about it, causing him to think about thinking about thinking. 

Jimin knows that Taehyung’s busy thinking. But when it gets to the point where he gets injured from thinking, he needs to do something about it. 

So Jimin sits Taehyung down one afternoon, just the two of them. He makes two cups of noodles and makes casual conversation with him.

After half an hour of dodging the conversation, Jimin finally looks at Taehyung in the eye. “Tae, are you okay lately?” He’s tired of beating around the bush and he’s tired of Taehyung being all weird at night.

“Yeah.” Jimin does not believe him. Not one bit.

“No.” Jimin looks up. He knew it inside all along. There’s something not alright.

“What’s up, bro?” he asks, finishing his noodles.

“This is gonna sound so weird…shit.”

It’s nothing Jimin hasn’t heard before. He’s heard this line over twenty lines. He heard it from Taemin, from Yoongi, and most importantly, from his own mouth. 

“I like Kook.” Jimin rests his head on Taehyung’s shoulder and laughs.

“I’m not laughing at you, Tae. I’m just...you really got a bloody lip from thinking too much about him?” 

“Yes. Oh, shut up.” Jimin falls off the sofa from laughing too hard. He’s not trying to be mean; it’s just he can’t believe Taehyung would allow himself to do this kind of craziness because of love. 

But he seems crazy about Kook. It is undeniable love.


	14. A Bad Grade

When Namjoon gets a bad grade, he’s the most logical about it. He’ll see what he did wrong and then try to learn from it.

When Seokjin or Taehyung or Hoseok get bad grades, they’ll be pissed for a few hours, but they get over it. They’ll shrug it off and remember to do better next time.

Yoongi tries not to show how disappointed he is in himself, but if he’s had a bad semester, he’ll bottle it all up until he can’t hold it in anymore. It always ends in him lashing out at Hoseok and then finally breaking down and telling Hoseok what happened.

Jimin will absorb in the grade and keep it inside of him. He’ll practise and practise until he gets it completely right. But then he’ll do stupid things, ranging from staying at the studio and forgetting to eat, to dancing on a rooftop out of sleep deprivation. When that happens, it’s up to Taemin to get his life back on track and to settle down.

But Jungkook.

Oh, Jungkook.

If he ruins his perfect GPA, he’ll pretend not to be upset. He hides behind a small smile and pretends that everything’s alright. He can put this facade up for about a week or two before he drives himself crazy with it. His hyungs know he’s finally snapped when he doesn’t sleep at night, becomes grouchy and gets small pimples on the back of his neck because he forgets to wash that part of his body. 

So who’s got the most problems when he gets a bad grade?

You guessed it. It’s Kook.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i said i would write about the vkook relationship in this chapter. sorry, building it up a little more.
> 
> also i flunked my test so at this point i'm just writing out my emotions. if it's bad, i'm sorry
> 
> lastly, tag yourself im kook


	15. Do you...?

Taehyung has thought about what Jimin said.

He’s sick and tired of thinking about this. The longer he holds it in, the more painful it becomes, and the longer he thinks about it, the more the issue grows.

So one night, when Jimin is at Taemin’s apartment eating cup noodles, Taehyung sits Jungkook down in the apartment. They are lying on the beds together, hugging pillows and talking about their thoughts lately.

“Kookie, what would you say if I asked you out?” Taehyung asks, rolling around on Jimin’s vacated bed. 

“I would accept. Why, hyung?” Innocently, Kookie’s doe eyes gaze into Taehyung’s. Tae sighs and internally fights on whether he should say this or not.

“Kook, I really really like you. I’ve thought about this long and hard...do you…”

“Do I want to go out with you?” Kookie finishes his hyung’s sentence. 

“Yeah. That. Do you wanna go out with me?” Taehyung crosses his fingers, not sure about Jungkook’s response.

“Yes!” Jungkook replies without hesitation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i finally did it


	16. Finding Jungkook (sequel to Finding Nemo)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jungkook is whipped
> 
> and there's a lot of floof and flirting

“Shit…” Taehyung mumbles, lying on the floor. Jimin opens the bathroom and looks at him from the inside of the bathtub.

“Where’s Kook?” Jimin asks blearily. Tae pats the space next to him, only to find that he’s not next to him.

“Son of a…” 

“Did we leave him at the bar?” Jimin says casually. 

Chaos ensues on the boys’ group chat, featuring all of them trying to find Kookie. That’s the problem with having a boyfriend that doesn’t read his messages. Unfortunately, this doesn’t do any favours for Taehyung.

**boxy:** guys where’s kook

 **boxy:** we looked in our apartment but he’s not there

 **vampire boy:** wtf how do you lose an 18-year-old

 **boxy:** that’s not helpful yoongi hyung

 **boxy:** i’m tryna find my boyfriend here

 **sunshine dude:** wait

 **vampire boy:** ‘boyfriend’???

 **sunshine dude:** you complete me _@vampire_boy [min_yoongi]_

 **boxy:** not right now guys

 **boxy:** babe if you reply to our messages it would be super helpful

 **vampire boy:** ‘babe’????

 **boxy:** stfu

 **vampire boy:** ouch but okay

 **chef jin:** he’s with me don’t worry

 **vampire boy:** wtf how did you leave him there

 **boxy:** omg thank you so much _@chef_jin [ksj_92]_

Jimin turns to Taehyung again. “Any news?” he asks.

“We left him at Seokjin hyung’s house.” Jimin falls out of the bathtub.

“Jesus. What...how...let’s just go get the kid.” Stumbling around, the two of them get dressed and go down to Seokjin’s apartment. 

When the 95 liners get down to the apartment, an interesting sight appears before their very eyes. Jungkook is asleep on what appears to be Seokjin’s hoodie, while the owner of the apartment himself is asleep on Kookie’s dark blue hoodie.

“We’re so sorry that we left you here, Kookie!” Jimin exclaims, poking the kid awake. 

“Ugh, do you realize that you left me at the bar until Seokjin hyung noticed that you were missing because he was the only one not drunk?” Jungkook grumbles. Jimin gives him a light kick in the shins.

“Oh, hey, babe! Long time no see!” Taehyung says, sort of scared of Jungkook’s reaction to his presence.

“I missed you, hyung. I love you, babe.” As he says this, he touches the side of his boyfriend’s face.

Jimin almost falls through the floor. He’s shocked at both of them and the usages of ‘babe’, given that he hasn’t read the texts yet.

But Kook, my friends, is a perfect example of a whipped child.


	17. When Kook actually got a bad grade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just some floof

Part of being in a law course is to prepare for a mock trial. Jungkook has no problem with this, whatsoever. 

Another part of it is to actually deliver the mock trial. And this is where Kook’s downfall is. 

On a day when his anxiety is chilling in Texas, he can do the mock trial pretty well, actually. But when he's giving his anxiety a piggy back, he can barely say a word. 

And then the teacher has no choice but to give him a bad mark. Which just happened, actually. 

And as he gets into the apartment with his head down, Taehyung instantly knows that Kook received a bad grade. While Kook goes over to the sofa, Taehyung pours some chocolate milk and whisks it to create a thick layer of froth. Although the chocolate milk is comfort for Kook, it won't stop his emotions from slowly eating his soul and brain away. 

Then there’s the intermission period, where Taehyung and Jimin wait for Kook to eventually explode. Jimin will often cuddle with Kookie in a vain attempt to make him feel better, even if it’s purely platonic. It can take days, weeks, even a whole month before Jungkook hits a peak, completely lashes out and then eventually gets better. 

With this recent bad grade, it takes about a week for Kook to hit a peak. When he finally gives up on storing in his anger and disappointment, he takes his binder and throws it across the room, hitting the game console and knocking the video games onto the floor. Screw it, he thinks to himself. Why bother picking them up? He flings the Overwatch case across the living room, he’s so angry. His beloved Overwatch game is neglected into the corner. Kookie is pissed off, not with his teacher, but with himself. Papers from the binder fly everywhere, leaving the floor covered in lined paper. 

And then he feels a pair of cold hands touch his shoulders. It is comforting and he leans into the person’s body.

“Hyung…” he cries softly. Taehyung doesn’t know what triggered Jungkook to finally reach the climax, but he knows that it will get better over the next few days.

“Hey...you’re okay,” is all Tae can think to say without sounding patronizing. He knows that Kook won’t care, but if he comes across like that, he himself won’t like it. “It’s not the end of the world.” He wraps his arms around Kookie, and although the younger tries to fight him off at first, he eventually gives in and leans into Taehyung. Kook trusts Tae like no other person. 

“It’s not.” 

“Sorry?” 

“It’s not okay.” And then Taehyung’s heart breaks because he knows how much Jungkook’s perfect grades mean to him.

“Of course it’s okay. Kookie, it’s okay to make mistakes, you know that? If the world ended every time I made a mistake, could you imagine what the world would look like?” Kookie laughs a little and smiles. And then Taehyung knows that he’s done his job.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry i didn't update yesterday, please forgive me! i'll be publishing quite a bit later, around 1 AM KST? since it's friday evening here :)
> 
> also i told you guys that i failed my test. my teacher said "don't be too disappointed" like what is there NOT to be disappointed about when you got 62% on a test :(


	18. Dogs

Namjoon is a cat person. Let’s get that out of the way before we proceed, shall we?

Seokjin has a dog at his parents’ house, but it belongs to his parents. He doesn’t bring it to university. But he does have two sugar gliders that all the maknaes (cough Jimin cough) have wondered about throwing them to see if they fly.

Yoongi pretends to not care much for dogs. But everyone knows about his love for his and Hoseok’s dog.

Jimin and Jungkook and Taehyung have considered getting a dog for a very long time. Jimin pets every dog he sees in the street, while Jungkook basically cuddles with every dog he just met. 

But if Jungkook was whipped everytime Taehyung brought home a stray dog from the streets, he would be whipped even more than he is right now. 

Despite Jimin reluctantly bringing the dogs into a kennel, Taehyung still brings them home until Jimin notices the new family member.

Oh, and Jungkook has an allergy to dog fur, but does he give a shit? Of course not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i felt so soft writing this asdfghjkl


	19. A Salty Curator and a Flirtatious Monk

Love is in the air.

First Jimin and Taemin, then Taehyung and Jungkook.

And now Yoongi’s hoping it’s him and Hoseok.

As the ‘Dungeon Master’, or the curator of the role playing game, Yoongi secretly wants to stop Hoseok’s character from snagging a kiss with Seokjin’s character. At first, he tried to prevent Hoseok from creating a batshit religious leader that kissed at every opportunity he got, but when Hoseok had thoroughly explained his reasons, Yoongi had no choice but to say yes.

And when Hoseok’s character kisses Jimin’s character for the third time that evening, Yoongi is tired of it. He’s not immature though; he won’t flip out in the game. He can handle this like a mature adult. “Let’s take a break now, guys. I’m going down to the coffee shop to buy an Americano. Seok-seok, you coming?”

Hoseok nods and follows Yoongi to the coffee shop five minutes down the road. While they wait for their drinks, Yoongi takes a deep breathe and tells him what happened. 

“Hoseokie, you know why I called for a break?” He wants to tell him now, since the coffee shop only has two other people around, and none of the other guys is around. 

“‘Cause you’re a coffee addict and finished your coffee from earlier?”

“Besides that...Seok-seok, when Raia was kissing Zoet and Mordor,* I kinda got...does it sound weird to be jealous of fantasy characters?” He laughs. 

Hoseok might as well fall through the floor.

“Hyung, I really really like being around you. So, you know...if you asked me out, I would say yes.” Greatly relieved, Yoongi beams, contradicting his usually cold outer layer.

“So, you know...do you wanna, um…” 

“Go out with me?” Hoseok finishes. Yoongi nods. “Yeah!” 

With that, Yoongi pulls the back of Hoseok’s neck and kisses him. 

And outside of the coffee shop, the five other guys cheer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Raia is Hoseok's character because Raia is Latin for 'ray' which has connotations to sunshine, like what Hobi is.
> 
> Zoet is Jimin's character, because Zoet is Dutch for 'sweet', matching Jimin's sweet nature.
> 
> Mordor is Seokjin's character, which is a modification to 'Modor' (old English for mother, which corresponds with Jin's caring personality.
> 
> also i sincerely apologize for the next chapter.


	20. Salt in Coffee

When Yoongi goes outside, his euphoria from kissing Hoseok instantly changes to intense rage. The kids can feel his anger radiating from his insides, even though he’s completely silent. 

“Hyung?” Jimin whispers in a soft and scared voice. Yoongi will spare Jimin because he is a small innocent child. 

But the other guys are purely irritating him, so when they get back to their respective apartments, everyone is trying to apologize to the Dungeon Master in their group chat. Yoongi picks up his phone, heads into the corridor and throws his phone across the hallway. Hoseok stands in the doorway of the apartment watching his new boyfriend, terrified of the anger Yoongi is stuck in. 

Yoongi storms back into the apartment and Hobi sprints down to get the cracked phone. He gives his roommate the mangled bit of metal. 

“Hyung, what’s wrong? We were so happy in the coffee shop but then…”

“I was just asking you out. But they...the guys thought they could...they interrupted us…they made us uncomfortable...like, I don't care but what if they ruined all our chances together...” Yoongi is shaking and flushed with anger. 

He is suddenly stopped by the warm pair of hands that are still holding his broken phone. 

“I know you feel strongly about that. But sweetie, you know I don't mind, right? I'll always love you even if the whole world was against us.” 

“Really?”

“Yes.”

And with that, they start kissing again, lips pressed into each other’s on the bed. 

After Yoongi cools off a bit (with the help of Hoseok), he texts the guys. 

**boxy:** hyung we're so sorry idk why we did that

 **mochi:** yeah it was so stupid and immature. sorry Yoongi hyung 

**chef Jin:** Yoongz I'm sorry it was my idea and it was a stupid decision

 **KNJ_1204:** bro we should've thought better it was really childish, sorry

 **jjk_ook:** sorry hyung we were being prats I'll buy you lamb skewers next time 

**vampire boy:** t’s ky gys m srry t fr bng n sshl rlr. Shldnt hv rctd tht wy, w’r mch mr mtr thn tht. Lv y ll

 **chef Jin:** wtf

 **jjk_ook:** ?

 **Sunshine:** he may or may not have thrown his phone twenty meters and now he can't type vowels on his phone. 

**Sunshine:** he said: it's okay guys I'm sorry too for being an asshole earlier. Shouldn't have reacted that way, we’re much more mature than that. I love you all.

 **Sunshine:** but then he added: i love hoseok the most

 **vampire boy:** ~~lv y s mch hsk~~ ddn't wrt tht

 **Sunshine:** translation: i love you so much hoseok but i'm gonna deny that because i'm embarrassed 

**vampire boy:** 'm nt mbrrssd!

 **Sunshine:** translation: you are so embarrassed but you're tryna hide it. also, i'm right next to you. let's stop texting

 **Sunshine:** also why is everyone so quiet

 **chef Jin:** no don't leave the chat we're all at my apartment reading the texts together. also yoongi you're so whipped

 **chef Jin:** even kook, who is like nearly allergic to all love except tae's love can sense the whippedness.

 **Sunshine:** can we come over?

 **chef Jin:** sure! 

**Sunshine:** oh sht yoongi just read these messages and is holding a baseball bat

 **Sunshine:** love you all, good luck


	21. Flu

When Namjoon is sick, it's usually because he's cramming for his exams. He’ll pretend to be fine before the exam, but afterwards, he’ll head back to his apartment and collapse into bed. Usually, Seokjin heads over to check on the poor guy so that he knows Joon’s not dead. 

When Seokjin’s sick, he's whiny and clingy, which is a bother because he makes everyone else sick. He’ll cling onto Namjoon’s arm and beg for the two to stay in his room. 

When Yoongi is sick, he'll be extra grumpy and irritable. He is picky about what he eats and drinks, so Hoseok runs around the town to get good food. 

Hoseok rarely gets sick, but when he does, he can barely move. He's tired and will sleep a lot by Yoongi’s standards, which says a lot. 

Taehyung and Kookie are similar when they're sick. They'll show symptoms like fussiness and sleepiness, but aside from Kookie pining for his mom, they're both functional when they're sick. 

But Jimin, sweetie. Bless him, he's so soft and smol when he's sick. Actually, bless Taemin for taking care of the cranky kid. 

When Jimin gets sick, he gets easily annoyed and indecisive. He becomes uncooperative and won't take care of himself until he's practically dying on the bed. When that happens, he becomes restless and he’ll cry and cry about being sick until he gets better. 

For example, last February, Jimin felt the slightest twinge of a sore throat coming on. Did that stop him from practicing endlessly for the midterm assessment? Of course not. As soon as he finished with his dance, he went backstage and fainted onto the floor. Taemin dragged Jimin to his own apartment and made him stay there so that he had no choice but to obey. 

But when Jimin has to miss the award ceremony for the term’s best dancers, he can suddenly gain the energy to cry and beg Taemin to let him go. Taemin, being a responsible adult that knows better, refuses and even skips it himself to take care of his sweet boyfriend. 

So the two decide to have their own ceremony at Jimin’s flat. 

And of course, Taemin wins the best boyfriend prize. Why? Because he knew internally that if Jimin were to go to the awards, he probably would die on stage or something. 

Okay, maybe not. But whatever. Taemin's still great, so he deserves it.


	22. Nice to Meet You

Flashback:

It is the Christmas of 2016. Jimin lost the rock paper scissors game and now has to go buy drinks and bring them up. 

On the way down to the lobby, he enters the lift. On the 13th floor, a boy with lime hair enters. Jimin vaguely recognizes him from dance class, but he doesn’t pay much attention to the hooded figure, until an intimidating man wearing a leather jacket barges into the lift, cancels the lobby floor and goes up. 

Instantly, Jimin speaks up, thinking that Lime Hair won’t say anything. “Hey! We were going down…” Before Lime Hair can shoot Jimin a _don’t fuck with this guy_ look, Leather Jacket Man slaps Jimin right across the face, creating a bleeding scratch on his face.

Jimin doesn’t even have time to react before his wrist is grabbed by Lime Hair, who wipes the blood across Jimin’s face and creates maroon streaks on Leather Jacket Man’s jacket. Leather Jacket Man turns to Lime Hair and draws in closer, the smell of cigarettes and beer lingering on his clothing.

“I know who you are...you’re Lee Taemin, aren’t you?” Lime Hair does not say anything; instead, he intently glares at Leather Jacket Man. “Yeah, you are Taemin! Look, you’ve got the lime hair…” He flips off Taemin’s hood and flicks the poor guy’s forehead in the process. Taemin clenches his fists and tries to look menacing. However, it’s fuel to Leather Jacket Man’s mockery.

“Ooh, Taemin’s getting angry. What’s you gonna do, huh? You gonna do some stupid ballet and kick me in the balls?” 

“Thanks for the idea!” And with that, Taemin extends his left leg and gives Leather Jacket Man a nice sharp kick in the groin, causing the large man to howl in pain and leave the lift on the next floor.

“You really didn’t need to,” Jimin says after the harasser leaves the lift. “Thank you, I’m not sure what I would do if you weren’t here.”

“It’s no problem. I’m Taemin by the way...you’re in my dance class, right?” Jimin nods. “What’s your name?”

“Jimin.”

“Holy shit...no way! You’re the Jimin?” Jimin blushes and twirls his hair shyly. 

“Um...probably? I mean, I don’t know if I’m the Jimin that you’re looking for. The way you describe him makes him sound pretty cool…”

“No, you’re cool! You’re such a good dancer but I’ve never talked to you.” Jimin laughs in an embarrassed and shy way, but he knows that he really likes Taemin, even if he only met him on that day.

And that’s how they got to know each other.

As a result, they started dating three months later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was so sweet and i'm really proud of this chapter :) lemme know what you think!
> 
> also leather jacket man is the same guy as the one that was bothering seokjin in chapter 10. you'd think that the leather jacket guy would learn that taemin is really scary and run upon seeing him, but nooo lmao


	23. Reading Books

If he focuses, Namjoon can read a book in half an hour. But if he doesn’t like the book, he’ll take weeks; even months to read the book.

Yoongi has convinced Seokjin that subtweets are not a form of literature. Neither are messages from friends. He actually got his hyung to try the Mortal Instruments series, and it’s not going too bad.

Yoongi loves his books, even if he won’t spend a whole weekend in his room like Jimin would. He can spend hours reading if he likes the book.

Hoseok is a ~~smut~~ romance fan. He loves reading fluffy friendships budding into romance because it simply gives him a warm feeling inside, making him smile ear to ear. 

Jimin loves reading in his room until dawn. He’s the definition of a bookworm. His bookshelves are covered in books, and he still wants more. If the boys want book recommendations, they go to Jimin because he knows the best books to read.

Jungkook usually doesn’t read, unless it’s for class. If it is, he’ll spend the whole week memorizing the case and preparing for it. Otherwise, forget about trying to get him to read. You might as well make him eat shit. 

But Taehyung won’t read full stop. He hates reading because there are too many words, or there are too little words, or it’s boring, or it’s got too much. Not one book can be seen in his room. Even Jimin, who knows the best books around, can’t force Tae to read anything.

So Jimin’s last resort is to make Kookie use his whipped powers to make Taehyung read. 

It’s a challenge, but he’ll get there eventually.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for the nice comments! i may not reply to them, but rest assured that i AM reading every single one of them :)
> 
> i wish there was a kudos button for the comments to show that i've read them, but there isn't. just know that i'm reading them all <3 
> 
> lastly, i updated my profile pic! the main otps in this fic are double min and taekook and sope but i'm actually a jikook shipper lmao


	24. Gaming

Tuesday nights are gaming nights for the seven boys. It can get _very_ interesting when they play together. They usually start at seven in the evening with pizza and some League of Legends. This hour usually consists of Seokjin standing on the sofa, victorious and telling everyone else to “suck it”. He’s the best out of the seven of them in this particular game. 

After a quick break involving washing up, they all play Overwatch for the rest of the evening. It took them about a whole semester of whether they should play Overwatch (defended by Yoongi, Taehyung and Jungkook), more League of Legends (Seokjin), World of Warcraft (Hoseok and Namjoon) or Minesweeper (Jimin). 

After doing a vote, Overwatch became the main game. Jungkook, Jimin and Seokjin attack, Taehyung defends, Yoongi and Namjoon tank, and Hoseok heals. One that doesn’t see Jungkook playing OW would think that he would be the most chill during the games, but no. He can (and will) attack anyone, teammates included, that causes challenges to achieving the objective.

For example, when Jimin’s character, Tracer, got attacked at the last moment before getting the objective, Jungkook did not hesitate to grab Tae’s computer and blow Jimin up (courtesy of D.Va). This caused them to lose the game. In the next round, Jimin got back at him by ‘accidentally’ swapped his laptop for Tae’s and blew Jungkook up.

So it’s all in good fun, but they can get competitive with each other. They’ll be as violent as Jack the Ripper on steroids one minute, but after the game’s over, they’ll all be cuddling with one another and declaring how much they love each other.

Why? Because they’re (nearly) family, duh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i deleted two chapters. also, i said that i was on hiatus. i might be updating less but not so much that it'd be a hiatus, as such. more like a small break.
> 
> enjoy!


	25. Sniffles

During the spring, Jungkook’s allergies get triggered by pollen. 

During summer, Jungkook’s allergies get triggered by the pollution from families going on road trips. 

During winter, Jungkook’s allergies get triggered by the dry weather. 

It also doesn't help that the plushies on Taehyung’s bed takes up more space than Tae himself does. 

So although Kookie has allergies all year round, his friends do their best to try and help him. Of course, this can have varying results. 

You know that one friend that believes in all those natural remedies? Yeah, Taehyung is that friend. But the remedies that he knows is so scientifically unsound that it's funny. 

“Babe, if you tie blue string around your right ear and brown string around your left, it'll help. Trust me.” Of course, being a good and loyal boyfriend, Jungkook obeys, allowing Tae to tie the multi-colored strings to his ear lobes. 

Hoseok also believes in these remedies, although not as unsound. He simply rubs on some Lavender oil, claiming that it'll make everything better. 

Jimin has other, more scientifically proven cures. He digs into his bag and pulls out some mentholatum. He rubs it around Jungkook’s red and inflamed nose.

“Um...hyung? Do you just happen to carry around mentholatum or something?” Kook asks. Jimin shrugs, because his logic is that you never know when you'll need something. It helps a little, and it smells good, but Jungkook’s nose won't stop dripping. 

Seokjin force feeds Kookie his famous vegetable soup. “Kookie, you'll feel better after drinking this. Wow, look! You have superpowers now!” Who is he kidding? Jin knows that Kookie hates all kinds of veggies, so why would it make any difference while drinking it?

Namjoon knows that protein makes you strong. He knows eggs have protein. So he takes his largest pan and makes a gigantic omelette that Jungkook can't even finish in one sitting. It tastes pretty good for Namjoon’s standards, given that he can barely remember which way the knife goes. But it doesn't help his runny nose. 

Yoongi wonders if all of them are playing dumb so as to not be patronizing to Kook by suggesting the obvious, but when the kid gets the fourth nosebleed in one week, Yoongi knows that they would've bought some medicine from a pharmacy already. 

So he goes down to the store and buys a decongestion spray for Kookie, which takes less than fifteen minutes to take effect. 

And then he wonders why none of the other guys thought of that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if i wrote spring day, it would be about pollen getting into my nose and eyes


	26. Snow

Snow is beautiful. It is like water, but it is nowhere near like water. It’s white and soft and romantic. And it’s not like standing in the damp, warm rain. After all, we look forward to the first snow, but who keeps track of the first rain? 

Speaking of which, the first snow is Taemin’s favourite memory. 

It’s the time when he dashed out of the meth-smelling apartment, barefoot and in his striped pyjamas, and touched snow for the first time. 

It’s the time when he spent with his loving grandma. It’s where the two pelted snowballs at each other and his red mittens would be covered in snow that was white like his sweet grandma’s hair. 

It’s the time when he made his first friend, Jongin. It’s when he made a snowcastle (similar to a sandcastle) in the way his grandma taught him, and Jongin took an interest to the activity.

It’s the time when he sat by his grandma’s grave, brushing snow off the stone with his gloved hands so that she wouldn’t get cold.

It’s the time when he asked Jimin out in the freezing air. It’s when he held Jimin’s warm hands for the first time; when he admired how the snow would fall onto Jimin’s eyelashes and hair as if he were Jack Frost.

Taemin loves snow. Everything is ten times more beautiful in the snow, and everything moves ten times slower in the snow, allowing him to take in the amazing scenery. 

Jimin also loves snow. He loves the fun that comes with it, from the snowball fights to the snowmen building. Most of all, he loves the cosiness that comes with it. He loves the numbness that he feels in his cold fingers because when they turn blue, he sprints into the house and grabs a cup of warm cocoa and cinnamon biscuits. 

But lately, Taemin’s been considerably stressed under the pressure of midterm exams. So when he sees that the weather forecast for February 14th is ‘snowy’, he smiles brighter than he has ever before because he knows that it will be a good day.


	27. Baking

Jimin has a few passions, like dancing, reading, watching Hamilton and baking.

Actually, it wasn't until last month that he began to love the art of bakery. It was an accident; he was going to go to meet Taemin at the coffee shop and was looking for parking. But it doesn't help that Jimin’s dyslexic, and for him, it means that he will accidentally flip letters, omit them or add them. You could see how he ended up learning how to bake. But he watched a few videos and instantly fell in love. 

He loves seeing the joy on his friends’ faces when he presents the cookies or cupcakes to them. He adores watching their faces just light up as they try it. 

Most of all, he loves to see Taemin try the baked goods. He watches intently for the delight that his boyfriend gets from the first bite. He always finds the motivation to bake by imagining Taemin beaming after trying it. 

And with a snowy Valentine’s Day coming up, Jimin buys some love heart shaped cookie cutters, some cinnamon and a cart full of flour, sugar and milk. 

Because it's their first Valentine’s Day together, and Jimin’s determined to make it the best it can be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> firstly, just because you're dyslexic doesn't mean you can't love reading.
> 
> also is it just me or does jimin just have this thing about him that's so goddamn lovable


	28. Jungcook

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes kook’s name is spelt wrong on purpose :)

Seokjin’s the best chef out of the boys, but that doesn’t mean that Jungkook loves cooking as well. He loves making food for Taehyung because the smiles that he receives are so rewarding. He’s not gone past making eggs, sandwiches and noodles, but he wants to try making more.

One day, Kookie gets an idea. He asks Tae for his opinion. “Hyung, what’s your favourite food?” he asks one morning, lying flat on his back. He twirls Taehyung’s hair and pulls himself so that he’s lying right on top of Tae. He rests his head on Tae’s chest and closes his eyes. 

Taehyung leans in towards Jungkook and plants a soft kiss on his boyfriend’s nose. “Risotto. You?” Kookie shrugs and kisses Taehyung back. That’s all that he needs to proceed. He sprawls himself across Tae’s chest and falls asleep like that. 

But now he knows what to do. Specifically, he knows that next week, on February 14th, he will make risotto for dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is so floofy vkook makes my heart soft kthjjk


	29. Bus Stop

Jimin and Taemin have spent far too long at the university. They’ve spent the whole evening studying there, and then they bought drinks at the convenience store next to the school. The bus service has long ended, and the train station doors have shut its eyes. They sit at the bus stop bench, leaning into each other. 

Suddenly, a young child walks past with his mother. It’s certainly far too late for him to be awake, but Jimin smiles slightly.

“You like kids?” Taemin asks. Jimin chuckles and rubs his boyfriend’s back. 

“You make me sound gross,” he says as the boy’s mother eyes them strangely. “Not like that. I like you.” The woman ushers her son forward and mutters something about gays. The two guys roll their eyes; it’s nothing that they haven’t experienced before.

“That’s cute, Jiminie. I like you too.” By now, Jimin is nestled in Taemin’s lap and he’s letting the older of the two to play with his hair.

Come to think of it, Jimin and Taemin have never kissed before. 

It’s the middle of the night, and no one’s there except for the two of them. 

As if thinking the same thing at the same time, they lean into each other even more. Slowly but surely, their lips engulf each other and their tongues gently touch. It’s not hardcore _snogging_ that Yoongi does with Hoseok, but it’s gentle, rhythmic kissing. Eventually, as the two hear footsteps coming, they quickly (albeit reluctantly) break apart. Taemin ruffles his partner’s hair and snuggles up to him. 

“I love you,” they say at the same time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was so cute


	30. The Last Exam

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> partially a filler chapter but also some fluff between double min (i love them so much)

“Last one for this semester,” Jimin says, making that note on his planner. He's got one exam left for tomorrow, but it's the big one. The practical. The one that determines his skill for the rest of the year, and possibly for the rest of his life. 

_The big one_ , Jimin thinks to himself. He knows he can't fail this. He goes down to the practice room and dances the rest of the afternoon away with Taemin. Finally, and thankfully, Taemin’s responsible enough to bring Jimin home and keep an eye on him. The act of heading home is totally against Jimin’s own will, but at the same time, he doesn't really want to do anything right now except for break down in the living room. 

Eventually, all the tension in him is building up. Taehyung is still in the campus doing some work, and Kookie is researching into a euthanasia case at school. Jimin leaps up and bolts into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. He knows that Taemin heard the bang when he hears the whimper, so he locks the door. 

And then he falls onto all fours on the floor, breathing hard. It's like someone’s squeezing him super hard and he's doing all he can to fight them off. He curls into a little ball, panting and feeling nauseous. Jimin can't think clearly, as if a thick fog blurred all his thoughts: why he's feeling like this, where he is or what's happening. His head is spinning and he's never felt like this before. Nervous, yes. But not this extreme. 

_This is how Jungkook must feel a lot_ , Jimin thinks to himself, the emotions building up inside him rapidly. 

Suddenly, Jimin is very glad that he went to the bathroom to break down. He grabs the side of the toilet bowl and throws up into it. Slowly, the fog clears from his head and he knows what's going on. 

He's having a panic attack.

He remembers the time when Jungkook had a speech and threw up in the living room because of it. As he thinks more about it, he retches again, this time not only in the toilet but also on his cardigan. 

“Babe.” Long, cold fingers touch his shoulders, leading him to flinch. “It's me...Taemin.” Jimin relaxes and sits with his back against the bathtub. Taemin gives his baby a few minutes to get a hold of himself. 

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Taemin asks. Jimin shrugs, tired from the sudden onset of panic. 

“It was really scary just now, and really random...like, I was just practising for the exam and then I was thinking about it and…was that a panic attack?” 

“Probably. It's been a while since I've had one, and everyone's different, but it probably was a panic attack. ” 

“I felt really scared and shaky and out of control.” Taemin nods and takes the dirty cardigan, dumping it in the laundry and leading Jimin into the bathtub. 

Rubbing his head in his hands while Taemin cleans up, Jimin silently allows tears to slide down his face. He covers his small eyes with his equally tiny hands so that his Taeminnie hyung won't see him cry and think any less of him. He already showed Taemin that he was weak, and there was no need for him to think more so of that. 

As if Taemin were reading Jimin’s mind, he gently pulls the younger’s hands towards himself. “What's wrong? Cry it out, sweetie.” He sits in the bathtub too, wrapping his arm around the crying boy. 

“I'm...I'm weak.”

“What do you mean?” Taemin asks, pulling Jimin closer as the kid cries harder. 

“It was a stupid reason to have a panic attack.” Taemin positions himself so that he's opposite Jimin and the younger can lean closer. 

“Oh, sweetie. You're not weak and you could have as many panic attacks as you need and I would still love you.” The two stay interlocked until Jimin finally speaks up. 

“Hyung, can we shower? I feel disgusting still.” Taemin nods but grins. 

“Of course," the older replies, planting a kiss on Jimin's forehead.


	31. Tofu

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bit of fun before valentine's day

“Please, hyung? Tae really wants one,” Kookie pleads. Jimin feels bad for not letting a dog in the house, but it’s so expensive and all of them are at the campus a lot, meaning that their poor puppy would be left alone. He voices this last point to the maknae.

“But not at the same time. Look at our schedule, see? At least one of us is home at all times.” Perks of living near the campus: when you’re on a break, you can run back home and chill for an hour. Jimin thinks about it and softens.

“What breed are you thinking of?”

“Labrador retriever.” It turns out that Jungkook’s thought about it more than Jimin realized. He knows a good kennel to get them from, different food costs and how to take care of the breed. So Jimin concedes, allowing Kookie to get the dog. 

When he returns an hour later, he is holding a small puppy with white fur and big brown eyes. Instantly, Jimin falls in love with the tiny creature and plays with its paws. “What’s his name?”

“Her,” Jungkook corrects, tickling the dog behind her ears. “Tofu.” Two emotions wash over Jimin: adoration and regret.

He regrets not letting Kookie to adopt Tofu earlier because she’s adorable and soft and sweet and obedient. He questions why he was worried about the puppy peeing on the carpet because she’s so good and even if she did make an accident, he wouldn’t care. 

But mostly, his heart feels warm and happy. Because being around Tofu destroys all negative emotions in the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was so cute


	32. Snow pt. 2 (Valentine's Special 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> valentine's special is finally here! sorry i've been gone for so long

Jimin grabs onto Taemin’s hand, unsure of what the latter has in store. He follows his hyung into the cold snow. 

Finding a snow covered bench, Taemin brushes off the frozen water and makes Jimin sit extremely close to him; so close that Jimin’s nearly in his lap. 

“Jiminie,” Taemin says quietly. Suddenly, he’s all shy and wraps his arms around Jimin’s waist. He rests his head on Jimin’s shoulders. Jimin leans back far enough to allow Taemin reach his plump lips. It’s only their second kiss, but still...they’re so perfect for each other that they already know each other’s ways of kissing and how to make the kiss perfect.

With one hand rubbing across his partner’s chest, Jimin scoops up a handful of snow and playfully sprinkles it all over Taemin’s light blue hair, giggling. Taemin tries to lean closer and kiss him, but snow falls off his head and Jimin tries to duck, ending up in the snow. Taemin reaches down and spreads it across Jimin’s thick black jacket, before leaping into the snow and lying on the floor with him. The cold hard floor paints Jimin’s fingers and lips the same colour as Taemin’s hair. Taemin gently picks up his baby’s fingers and kisses them, trying to warm them up. 

“Hyung, it’s cold,” Jimin rasps, cheeks a bright pink and lips a faded purple. He grabs Taemin’s wrist and leads him back to the apartment building. When they get to the older’s flat, Jimin takes his jacket and boots off. On the other hand, Taemin’s already whipped nearly everything off, save for his black jeans.

“What are you doing?” Jimin asks, allowing his stalactite-like fingers to wander around his hyung’s chest. “Aren’t you cold?”

“Yeah. Hey, do you mind taking your shirt off? I’m sure that there’s something under there that’s hot enough to keep your hyung warm, right?” Taemin teases, leaning against the wall, playing with the zipper of his jeans and wiggling his tongue around. 

Jimin blushes hard.

~~

After...um...sex, they're always tired. Taemin slumps into the sofa and quickly falls asleep. But before that, Jimin gains the permission to use the kitchen. He's got the cookie mix from earlier; all that's left is to cut them into hearts and then put them in the oven. After he gets the cookies in the oven, he reminds himself to listen out for the sound of the beeps and then goes over to cuddle with Taemin. He slips his arm underneath the sleeping boy’s waist and leans in so that both of their heads are touching….

When Jimin hears the beeps of the oven, he carefully creeps over and pulls them out of the oven. He unsticks one cookie from the tray and wraps Taemin into a burrito blanket. 

Taemin mumbles something sleepily. “I got you something,” Jimin says, holding the cookie near his mouth. Taemin opens his mouth, as if to say _feed me_ , and presses his lips around half of it. 

“Bite the other end,” he says through the cookie. Jimin gladly accepts and eats the other end, until their lips meet and they kiss. 

Between the two, sure, Jimin might be more romantic, but Taemin’s just as creative with his ways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jimin asked me to share the photo of the cookies he made with you guys: https://drive.google.com/file/d/13DoKwunDSdwsgedMRoxL0mi9ztCDLE8h/view?usp=sharing 
> 
> ahh my face feels like it's falling off. remind me next time that if im starving, then i should never put my seafood allergies at risk lmao


	33. Nervous Kook (Valentine's Special 2)

Thank god for late coding finish. Kookie is a complete nervous wreck - he can't think straight and he's scared about what Taehyung will say about the dinner. He calls Seokjin down urgently. 

“What’s up?” Seokjin asks, sipping a cup of coffee. “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten how to make a risotto.” Jungkook shakes his head. 

“I’ve made it, but I don’t know if Tae will like it.” Jungkook gives a bit for Jin to try. When Jin tries it, his entire face lights up and breaks into smiles. 

“God, I’m gonna have to step up my game. You’re getting good at this, Kook.” Kook continues to fret. 

“What do I wear? What should I do with my hair?” 

“Okay, Kook, calm down. You sound like a girl going on a first date.”

“But I am. Minus the girl part. This is our first date.” Jin laughs and goes upstairs to get something. 

“Do you have a suit?” Kook nods and grabs it, receiving Jin’s approval and command to put it on, before making him sit down. Seokjin tells Jungkook to close his eyes.

Fifteen minutes later, Kook gets the okay to open his eyes. When he does, his hair does not look like how it does when he closed his eyes.

Because…

Seokjin…

shaved all of his hair off.

 

Kidding! Jin just gave Kookie a temporary perm. It’s not much; some soft curls are all, but it’s adorable on him. 

Jungkook leaps up to give Seokjin a hug. “Nail that date, Kookie. I’ll catch you later,” Jin says. Jungkook nods and skips off to go and get Tae from the campus.


	34. 잘 먹겠습니다//Thank you for the meal (Valentine's Special 3)

Taehyung holds a small package in his two hands, waiting for Jungkook to come over. He’s aware of Kookie’s new obsession with stationery, so he has an idea.

Jungkook sprints over and leaps into Tae’s arms, almost squealing with happiness. Taehyung kisses his baby back and the two run back to the apartment. 

When they get there, ~~Jungkook~~ Jungcook pulls the risotto off the stove and serves some for each of them. “Seokjin hyung said we’re going for drinks after our dates,” Kookie says, swallowing a bite of mushroom. Tae nods, but doesn’t say anything, too busy eating (pronounced drinking) the meal. 

After the two finish, they exchange gifts. Taehyung gives Kookie a new binder for his many papers, as well as some brush pens, and then Jungkook grabs a box from the door. Actually, he got Hoseok to dress up as a delivery man and deliver the package. 

“Open it!” Jungkook says, excited. Tae obeys and when he opens the lid of the box, a ball of white fur jumps out. The puppy leaps into Tae’s arms and curls up. 

“Oh my gosh. What’s his name?” 

“Funny, Jimin asked the same thing. _She’s_ called Tofu.” Tae picks up Tofu and kisses her nose. 

“You wanna go walk her?” Jungkook asks, holding up a collar and leash. Taehyung nods and helps hold Tofu still while Kookie bends down puts the collar around their new puppy. When he straightens out, Tae bends down at the same time and they accidentally kiss - for a brief moment. 

On their walk, they pay more attention to each other than to Tofu. They talk about Taehyung’s computer science and Jungkook’s recent investigation project. They hold hands and lean into each other until they reach the bridge. They tie Tofu’s leash to a pole and then both of the boys’ hands touch. 

“I love you,” they say. Jungkook takes a step closer and leans in, tops of their heads touching. Before they know it, they’re kissing passionately. Tae’s lips press hard into Kook’s. However, it’s not a painful press; it’s a firm one that asserts his love and desire. It’s like a picture - two light posts on either side of them, a night sky and the two boys are kissing for the first time.

They’re kissing adoringly, beautifully and absolutely perfectly.


	35. No Destination (Valentine's Special pt. 4)

Neither Hoseok nor Yoongi have much planned, except for the fact that they’re buying a couple bracelet together. After they do that, they jump into Yoongi’s car. 

“Where are we going?” Hoseok asks, climbing into the passenger seat. Yoongi shrugs, leaving the younger in utmost confusion and shock.

“No destination. We’ll drive around doing whatever we want.”

So they set off, 120 km/h on the highway. “How is your architecture course? Are you starting your internship yet?” Yoongi asks, overtaking a truck with its hazard lights on. 

“Yeah, like next month? They’ve approved it and I can start the projects. Hey, how’s the poems book going?” From nowhere, Yoongi whips out a notebook and hands it to Hoseok, needing to concentrate on the road to make sure he won’t crash into a tree. 

“Do you even know where you’re driving?” Hoseok asks, flipping through the book. 

“I told you. We’ll drive without destination and if we get to a good place, we’ll chill there.” 

As they get off the highway, they spot a bar/inn a kilometre away. Hoseok thinks about going there, but is already distracted by a car in front. 

“The guy’s got a goddamn flat tire.” At first, Yoongi is irritated, but then instantly feels bad for the kid because Flat Tire Dude is around Jungkook’s age and looks like he’s going to cry because of all the cars beeping behind him.

Yoongi hops out of the car and offers help. “Hey, what’s up?”

“My dad’s gonna be so pissed with me. I’m nearly late home but my car got a flat.”

Yoongi offers him a ride. “Where do you wanna go?”

“You see that bar over there? Yeah, my dad owns that place.” 

When they get there, the kid thanks them profusely. “Dad, these guys helped me get home just now. You think you could let them stay here?” The owner accepts immediately and gets Yoongi and Hoseok a room. 

“Let’s call the other guys and tell them to come over,” Hoseok suggests. After Yoongi calls them, he asks how long they took to get there.

“Like, half an hour or so?” Hoseok guesses. As soon as these words leave his lips, Yoongi throws his shirt off and drags Hoseok into the shower with him. Hoseok frowns, evidently confused. 

“We have half an hour left. Even less; we helped that boy earlier. We need to hurry.”

“To do what?”

“Have sex.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ik it's no longer valentines for some of you lovelies, but for everyone else, enjoy! i'm writing this on a 3% battery and it's late at night so forgive me for this.
> 
> in approx. 8 hrs, i will publish one more part to this (i'll write on my ipad) even though for a lot of people valentine's day will be over. byeeee!


	36. Not Lonely (Valentine's Special 5)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I LIED HAHAHA IM BACK

Namjoon tries to convince himself that he's not alone for Valentine's Day. He's got his philosophy homework. Oh, who is he kidding? He's lonely as hell. 

Seokjin is lonely too. But two lonely guys don't make for lots of loneliness. Namjoon texts Jin and the latter replies with a friendly “come over!”

So there they are, eating some spaghetti together _as friends_. There are some moments where they want to put one end of spaghetti in their mouths and eat it until they're kissing, but they choose not to. They love each other as friends.

After their quick dinner, they sit on the sofa and watch some Game of Thrones. Seokjin’s arm works its way up to around Joon’s neck, which is crooked to lean on the older’s shoulder. 

When they thought they were lonely, boy, they were wrong.


	37. A Short History

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm really really really sorry i've been gone for so long! with the valentine's special over and lunar new year celebrations going on, i've been really busy and slightly burnt out.
> 
> but im back now and i'll probably release a ton of new chapters in the coming days! i love you all <3

Flashback: 

The date is March 17th, 2017. A long winter. The snow on the ground thickens. Over the past few weeks, it's been cold, but not snowy. Jimin is under the impression that the two are going to a gay bar to meet one of Taemin’s gay friend. However, Taemin’s got a plan. He sits Jimin down by the park. 

“Remember that time when we first met?” 

“Yeah. If I didn't lose Rock Paper Scissors and that guy didn’t come into the lift…”

“You mean Jake? The one with the leather jacket?” Jimin nods. “Oh, we should thank him for that,” Taemin says sarcastically. 

After waiting and talking for a long time, Taemin can't wait. “Jimin, from the first moment I knew you, I liked you for your dancing. And then we had the lift incident, and I saw how sweet you were. I found out so much about you in the space of six months. But I want to know you more. I wanna love you.”

“Wanna go out?” Taemin asks. Jimin’s gloved hands touch Taemin’s, and he smiles. 

“I want to go out with you. I wanna go out with you, Lee Taemin.”

And then they hold hands and actually go to the gay bar together.


	38. Nam-JESUS CHRIST A SPIDER

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not to brag but i love today's title

As today’s title suggests, Joon is scared of spiders.

No, he’s goddamn terrified of them. If he sees one, he’ll sprint to Seokjin’s room and he doesn’t care how gay it is to jump into the older’s bed if it means he can get away from a spider.* 

One evening, Namjoon is lying awake at night, feeling the adrenaline of the upcoming test rippling through his body. He turns onto his left side when a horrible, hairy spider crawls across his face. 

Oh, was that misleading? I meant that the spider was climbing across a painting that Jungkook made for him. 

Anyways, Joon screams and nearly shatters the painting by kicking the hairdryer from the floor to the wall, which in turn causes his dog to bark and scare the owner, leading the two to fall backwards and knock the painting into the laundry basket. 

And then, the spider jumps onto RapMon’s nose.

I mean, it jumps onto his dog’s nose. 

Joon screams and takes off, using the spare key to unlock Jin’s door. 

“Holy... what happened to you?” Seokjin asks, partially sympathetic, but also pissed that Namjoon might as well have broken into the apartment.

“Spider.” In Namjoon’s mind, he can hear Jin’s caring voice and his warm arms wrapping around him. He opens his eyes, hoping for this sight.

“For fuck’s sake,” Jin says, rolling over and pulling the panicking guy into the same bed.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *they're not gay for each other  
> **i'm pretty sure they're not gay
> 
> also: HAPPY HOSEOK DAY! i'll write more tomorrow when i wake up


	39. A Friend in the Dark

Now, don’t let this title confuse you. It’s not some sort of sappy chapter about Jimin and Taehyung being there to support each other in all their struggles. Did you really think I would write something like that? 

Probably, yes. Moving on!

No, it’s about two batshit crazy boys that are absolutely terrified of the dark, and the said boys are caught in a horrible blizzard that caused the whole building to be stuck in a power cut. 

Jungkook is stuck in the university, but the campus hasn’t suffered through the sudden loss of light and heat. This leaves Jimin and Tae lost in the dark. 

Taehyung stands on the tips of his toes and glances through the peephole, before whimpering. The corridor is pitch black, the entire street is covered in shadows and the apartment is so dark that Jimin walks into a wall. When Taehyung explains what happened, Jimin starts to cry. And when Jimin starts to cry, Taehyung does too. 

Close your eyes and imagine the sounds of two baby boys crying. That’s exactly what it looks like - pitch black, and the two boys crying like babies. 

Jimin is very scared of the dark. He doesn’t know where things are, and what’s worse is that when he’s in the unknown, he wants his mom and dad. He wraps his arms around Taehyung and hopes that the two will be okay. 

Meanwhile, Taehyung has an overactive imagination. He wonders what is lurking in the dark and what will kill him. He doesn’t want to die yet. This makes him cry. 

Suddenly, the door swings open and light falls onto the carpet. “This is how we die,” Taehyung whimpers. This doesn’t help Jimin, who puts his face on Taehyung’s shoulder. 

“Guys, you know that the electricity came on five minutes ago?” Jungkook says, turning on the light. “You just had to switch it on.”

“But...but..we tried earlier,” Jimin cries. 

“Um, no. You didn’t switch it on after the power came back on.”

This is why, among the three of them, Jimin and Tae call Kookie the smart one of the three.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so maybe i was being sappy here
> 
> i laughed so hard while writing this, it was really fun to make


	40. Let's Go

It is a cold Friday night. The boys want to go somewhere in Korea for the Lunar New Year break. As Namjoon rolls the dice, he voices this thought. 

“Our dream was always to go on a holiday with each other. It’s a perfect time now!”

“Okay, let’s be real for a second. Where are we gonna go for a holiday? There’s, like, a million tourists here for the Pyeongchang Olympics. No goddamn way are we gonna be able to get a hotel,” Yoongi states matter-of-factly. 

“My uncle has a cabin in Gwangju. I mean, we could go there, right? Personally, I think it’d be really fun,” Hoseok says. 

“If Hoseok says it’s fun, let’s go there,” Yoongi says, obviously whipped. Namjoon rolls his eyes but finds the love between the two hilarious as hell. 

And over the course of the evening, they get packing, renting and all those types of things you do when there’s montage music in the background. 

Finally, on Sunday morning, they set out in Namjoon’s car.


	41. Pains

If there’s one thing that Jimin hates the most, it’s long car journeys. Two hours of sitting in the back of a car? No thanks. There’s nowhere to stretch and nowhere to piss and nowhere to sleep. 

Worst of all, Jimin’s prone to motion sickness a heck ton. 

So he’s not looking forward to three hours and fifteen minutes of being stuck next to Taehyung and Kookie, who can’t sit still for two minutes. This will make for loud noise and lots of bouncing around. Three hours and fifteen minutes to get to Gwangju.

So when they get into Namjoon’s huge ass car, Jimin can already feel the anxiety for the trip. He’s taken a pill that claims it will take away all his symptoms, and he’s got the letter that Taemin sent him in his pocket. 

But as the seven boys turn down the highway, Jimin feels his head killing him. He throws his head back into the headrest, closes his eyes and tries to think of everything except for the pain and warmth that spreads through the top of his head, reaching down his face and neck. 

“Hyung.” Jimin opens his eyes slightly. “I said your name, like, ten times,” Jungkook quips. Jimin nods, not really listening. He wishes that he sat in the window seat, but now that they’re going at 80 km/h, there’s no way that he can swap seats without neither Kook or Tae falling out of the car. 

“Hey, you okay, bro?” Tae asks, worried for his fellow 95 liner. Jimin nods again but realizes that he’s lying. His face is tight and it feels as if a tight hat is being secured to his skull. His jaw is clenched firmly in case he suddenly needs to throw up. He presses his freezing hands to his flushed cheeks.

“Honestly Tae, don’t even bother asking Jimin if he’s okay,” Yoongi says truthfully. “He’ll always say yes, even if he’s not.”

“Hey, Jimin-ah, we’ve got a gas station in ten minutes. Hang in there, okay?” Namjoon tells the near-crying boy through the rearview mirror. 

Jimin’s always had this kind of problem. When the boys went to Europe, Jimin couldn’t deal with going backwards. It got to a point where Jimin was too scared to ride any moving vehicle, leading Taemin to write a letter prior to the couple’s trip to Busan. He wrote:

_Dear Jiminie,_

_How have you been lately? With your anxiety with the vehicles?_

_Jiminie, you know I love you so much. And I know you love me a lot, too. I’ve really wanted to go on a trip with you for a long time, but I just don’t wanna hurt you if we do._

_Please don't think that this letter is to beg you to go on a trip with me. I would never force you to do anything you don't want to. I just wanted to remind you that no matter what you choose in life, I would always support and love you._

_Jimin, if we were to go to on a trip together, we don’t need to take a car to get there. If I could, I would drive a plane...a train...a car...all the vehicles around the world as smoothly as possible. If I could make your fear of cars go away; if I could make your hurt leave you; if I could make you feel better in your life...I would._

_Love you always,_

_Taemin_

Jimin has memorized this letter word for word. He recites it in his head, assuring himself that even if he's not good with cars, it's okay. He reminds himself that it doesn't matter to Taemin, so it shouldn't matter to anyone else.

He repeats it in his head, as if it’s a soft lullaby that’s easing his pains.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am such a horrible person to jiminie idk why i do this to him
> 
> also, shameless promotion - i've released a oneshot, it's jikook this time :) so you know, if you want to try something else...


	42. Texting in the Woods

By the time the boys are at the cabin, they’re exhausted. Namjoon and Seokjin have crashed on the sofa and started watching more _Game of Thrones_ on the former’s computer. Hoseok and Yoongi are snuggled up on each other in one room, while the maknaes are in another room: Jungkook and Tae fussing over Jimin, doubting his ability to walk, eat and even see. They’re all so tired that they can’t even get up to talk to each other; they stick to texting.

 **sunshine dude:** just a quick heads up guys, we’re gonna have to collect firewood if you don’t wanna freeze out there

 **vampire boy:** h’s rght, y knw

 **jjk_ook_:** hyung did you like never get your phone fixed or sth cos your still not using vowels

 **vampire boy:** *y’r nd ls stf

 **boxy:** somehow him swearing doesn’t have the same effect anymore

 **vampire boy:** y wnt th wf r nt

_SERVER NOTICE: **mochi** changed their display name to **JMochi** _

**boxy:** omg that’s so cool how do you do that

Jimin looks up from his phone and simply looks at Tae. “I’m right here, you didn’t need to ask me in text, you know,” he teases. Taehyung rolls his eyes and passes his phone to Jimin, allowing him to change his display name.

_SERVER NOTICE: **boxy** changed his display name to **kthlovesjjk** _

“You’re so embarrassing but in an adorable way,” Jungkook laughs.

 **kthlovesjjk:** jimin you know you can change the default ‘their’ to ‘him’ right?

 **JMochi:** meh i don’t feel like changing it

 **sunshine dude:** gUYS BACK TO THE TOPIF if you want cold water tonight that’s cool with me but don’t you think we should get some in case

 **vampire boy:** *tpc

 **namjesus:** I’ll get the wood.

 **vampire boy:** fr th lst tm, stp pttng fll stps @ th nd f yr sntncs

 **vampire boy:** ths s mssngr, nt nglsh clss

 **namjesus:** Okay.

 _He never listens_ , Yoongi thinks to himself, smiling and turning his phone off.


	43. Insomnia

In the maknae line’s terms, _friends with benefits_ simply means friends that you can hug and get cheek kisses from without anyone getting hurt. Which is great because when it's just the seven boys on a trip, Jimin’s never feeling like he's third-wheeling. 

So when the three boys are in a room with space only for a long bed, they share. Jungkook in the middle with Jimin and Tae on either side of him. The reason for this is that the boys know that Kookie gets nightmares sometimes, so having two of his favourite hyungs right next to him make him feel a little better. 

Jimin hates being cold at night, so he’ll try and keep as many blankets on as possible. He curls up into a tiny ball. 

Taehyung loves talking until the ripe hours of the morning. So that’s what the three boys do in the same bed. 

“How are you feeling?” Jimin asks, his caring nature seeping through his pores. 

Jungkook answers with, “Tired,” and Taehyung answers with “Annoyed that Kookie won’t give me a kiss.” Jimin rolls his eyes and pokes Kookie, who leans over and presses a quick one to Tae’s cheek before looking over to see for Jimin’s answer. 

“I don’t know. Frustrated that I can’t sleep, I guess?” Jimin says offhandedly. 

“Maybe we should try to help, hyung,” Jungkook says, eyes gleaming with sympathy for Jimin. 

“What can you do, though?” Jimin says, shrugging his shoulders sadly. “You know, aside from warm milk.” Taehyung’s always been suggesting this since the beginning of time, and although it’s delicious, the sugar in it keeps him up for even longer.

Jungkook does a quick internet search for causes of insomnia. “High levels,” he reads off the blinding light coming from his phone. “Are you stressed, hyung?” Jimin tries to play it off by shrugging nonchalantly, but his two best friends know him the best and know when he’s lying. 

“Bro, Taemin hyung told us. You can tell us the truth, you know,” Taehyung says, extending his left leg to cross over both Jungkook and Jimin.

“What did he tell you?” Jimin asks, playing dumb. He knows what they’re talking about but he doesn’t want to let on. 

“Hyung, it’s okay to be embarrassed,” Kookie says, fixing a firm but slightly affectionate glare at his hyung. “But you do need to let us know if you’re feeling stressed, okay?”

“Oh, alright then,” Jimin mutters, sighing and pulling the blankets over his chest even more, if possible. “Where do you want me to start?”

“The beginning,” Taehyung quips, only to receive an eye roll from Jimin. “C’mon, don’t be like that, buddy.” Jimin sighs again and begins. 

“Remember the time when I twisted my ankle so I couldn’t dance properly for the test?” The to younger guys nod, not quite sure where this is going. “Yeah, well I was kinda...um... kinda scared that I would mess this up? Because if I failed this, I would get a bad GPA?” Jimin says, his voice going up at the end of his sentences and sounding as if he were asking them rather than telling them. 

“But hyung,” Kookie whines. “You wouldn’t fail this test anyway!” He doesn’t understand -- without anything impacting him, Jimin is a fantastic dancer. 

“Kookie, that’s not true. If I don’t sleep well, I do badly. If I think about doing badly, I don’t sleep well. It’s a nightmare of a cycle that I’m stuck in, and…” Jimin trails off as he reaches for his phone and checks the time. “Two fifty-two.” 

“Hmm?” Taehyung says. “What’s 252?”

“Two hours, fifty-two minutes. I just feel the need to check the time a lot.” He throws his phone back onto the nightstand. And even though Taehyung and Jimin have been close friends since kindergarten, Kookie’s spent enough sleepovers with Jimin that he knows exactly what to do to make him fall asleep. 

“You know what I’ll do…” Kookie whispers, his finger tracing up and down Jimin’s cheek. Jimin can already imagine the sweetness of Jungkook’s singing voice, and as he gets used to the rhythmic movement of Kookie’s finger, he starts to fall into the soft lullaby.

And as Jimin closes his eyes, ready for Kookie to sing, he gets a rude awakening. Yes, Jungkook and Taehyung are still there, but Jungkook is…

Playing.

The.

Goddamn.

Kazoo.

At three in the morning. 

“Jesus,” Jimin says, getting out of bed. “That’s it, I can’t sleep anymore.” 

Wait, what? Did you really think that I was gonna write a sappy story of Jungkook slowly bringing Jimin to sleep?

Oh, sweetie. You silly reader.

Just kidding. I love you still.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, there's really no other way to say this: I'm sorry. To all of you that were waiting for a new chapter, I'm sorry for leaving you hanging. Due to my bad time management and writing abilities, I've not been able to produce a new chapter for a while. Other than that, there's really no excuse for as to why I've been an ass and not written. And for that, I'm very sorry. I promise to do better in the future and I will try not to let you down again.
> 
> Thank you for sticking with me for 43 chapters already. I hope for many more to come with joy and of a higher frequency.


	44. 생일 축하해요, 형 (Happy birthday, hyung)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> they're back in seoul since this chapter, fyi

Yoongi hates his birthday because his asshole classmates in primary school often bullied him on this day to make his life hell. They would spread horrible lies about him; so bad that I’m not even going to go into detail. Anyway, now, his birthday serves as a reminder of his classmates’ taunting. 

So when it comes to this time of year, Hoseok wants to know why Yoongi’s not looking forward to his birthday.

“Don’t you like the cake? The presents? Ooh, the games?” Hoseok enthuses. In Yoongi’s completely and utterly unbiased opinion, Hoseok’s the cutest when he’s excited about something, and his large brown eyes twinkle and light up. He looks like a small puppy that’s about to get treats, and no one can resist that.

For some reason, Yoongi can’t seem to resist that kind of pleading. He twists a strand of hair in his fingers. “What kinds of games?” he asks tentatively, hoping it’s not _Pin the Middle Finger on an Actual Yoongi_. When he voices this, Hoseok frowns.

“What are you talking about? I’m not sure what parties you went to, but that’s just mean.” Yoongi explains all the different rumours, and how he got suspended on his birthday for apparently lying about people spreading lies about him.

“What? Didn’t they ask the kids?”

Yoongi shrugs and says, “Yeah, but what can I do? They were rich kids, their parents were rich and they gave a lot to the school. If they were suspended, they would be pulled out.” 

“Well, I mean, we could order pizza and play Dungeons and Dragons.” Yoongi half-smiles. He knows that as a Dungeon Master, he’s untouchable. He knows that the guys wouldn’t hurt him, but still...knowing that being a DM means that he feels safe as if there’s a fence protecting from all hurt in the world.

So Hoseok and Yoongi let the other guys know about tonight.

 **sunshine dude:** guys D &D as normal tonight??

 **vampire boy:** nd xtr pzz

 **sunshine dude:** and cake for the birthday boy’s birthday

 **chef jin:** sign me up

 **JMochi:** want a present, hyung?

 **vampire boy:** nh, t’s ky. Thx th, JM

 **chef jin:** namjoon said yes

 **JMochi:** i’ll ask tae and kook when they’re done...um...showering

 **vampire boy:** jss jmn w ddn’t nd t knw tht

After Jimin says yes on the behalf of Jungkook and Taehyung, Yoongi carries on writing the evening’s campaign. Hoseok runs down to the bakery and gets a cake for his boyfriend. Smiling to himself because of the design on it, he puts it in the fridge and lies on the bed, watching Yoongi write.

That evening, when the boys are playing, Yoongi notices that Hoseok’s extra flirty with him. In fact, all of the characters seem to be breaking the fourth wall by talking to the DM. However, it doesn’t feel as weird as Yoongi thought it would be.

“Okay...let’s see, Raia makes a persuasion check to convince the baker to let him pay ten extra gold points,” Hoseok says. “Nine.”

“Why do you want to give me ten more gold points than needed?” Yoongi replies, trying to understand the situation. Hoseok temporarily gets flustered and looks to the other boys for help, his cheeks reddening. 

“Because he wants to show you that he would go beyond expectations for you,” Jimin pipes up, winking at Hoseok. “Okay, can Zoet make a performance check so that you’ll let us give ten more gold points?” Yoongi nods silently, too embarrassed to say anything. “One.” Normally, everyone would go crazy over Jimin’s usual bad luck, but now they’re all silent, even though they’ve just completely failed to get what they wanted.

Because Yoongi and Hoseok have happened to just lock eyes. “Fine. One last try. Can Raia make a kiss check?” 

“Who with?” Yoongi asks. It’s one of those questions that you know that there’s no need for an answer. Even with a kiss check being added to Hoseok’s kiss-crazy monk character, Hoseok’s never actually kissed the others for the game. Only his character has kissed the others in their hypothetical world. However, all the boys know what’s happening. 

Hoseok grabs the back of Yoongi’s neck with one hand and rolls the dice with the other. “20.” He presses his forehead to Yoongi’s forehead, and then his nose to Yoongi’s nose, and then finally…

His lips at Yoongi’s lips.

The first time this happened, Yoongi felt embarrassed and awkward, especially since everyone saw his first kiss. But now, he’s not afraid to embrace it as he closes his eyes in bliss. 

And finally, for the first time in nine years, thanks to Hoseok, he’s finally enjoyed his birthday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i should sleep. it's like 3:54 here right now. if taemin doesn't mind, can i just like steal jimin for tonight so we can be insomniac buddies lmao
> 
> speaking of double min, some fluff between them next chapter :)


	45. Missed You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING for self-harm references

“Sup,” Taemin says, flopping into the bathtub, where Jimin’s pillow and blankets lay. “I missed you.”

Jimin extends his left hand and ruffles Taemin’s brown and blonde hair. “I missed you too. Love the new hair,” Jimin replies. Taemin shakes his bangs so that they’re just covering his eyes and smiles. Despite not being able to see it, Jimin finds Taemin’s eye smile particularly cute. They’re like tiny little crescent moons on his soft cheeks. 

“Can I go get a snack?” Taemin says. Jimin nods, pointing at the kitchen. As Taemin stands up, Jimin gets an eyeful of everything about Taemin. Having not seen him for a whole week, he misses him a lot. He stares at Taemin’s long legs, his skinny ankles, brown hair, scarred wrists and (Jimin thinks as he licks his lips) his firm butt. When Taemin turns around, his eyes are cold and glassy, but they’re beautifully expressionless. His lips are plump and glossy, and his smile is everyone’s dream. Everyone really, really likes Taemin - even Tofu, Jungkook and Taehyung’s dog, follows Taemin, wandering near his heels. 

“Sit, Tofu,” Taemin says, and Tofu obeys, waiting right outside the bath. Taemin climbs back into the bathtub and hesitates before holding out the cashew nut to Jimin. 

“You’re not allergic to cashew nuts, right?” 

“No, just peanuts and tree nuts. I don’t even know if I’m still allergic to them, actually. It’s been, like, six months since I last used my EpiPen,” Jimin admits, taking the cashew nut from his hyung’s hand. He knows that Kookie and double Tae* did their best to keep an allergen-free environment for Jimin. 

“Don’t risk it, Jiminie,” Taemin advises, knowing that it’s pretty unlikely that Jimin would grow out of his allergy, seeing as he’s not grown much for a few years now. Besides, anaphylaxis isn’t fun at all, as Taemin knows from the time that he had to try and figure out how an EpiPen worked. He still remembers the fear shining in Jimin’s eyes as he watched his hyung fuss with instructions. Worst of all, he remembers the super scary wheezing sound emitting from Jimin’s chest. “How did you find out about your allergy?”

Jimin laughs, his eyes twinkling with memories. “Oh, I tried my little bro’s candy bar and then I started choking and wheezing and then my mom took me to the hospital. Then they were like, ‘oh, the kid’s allergic to peanuts.’”

“What about tree nuts?” Taemin asks. 

“Oh, I tried my little bro’s other candy bar and then I started choking and wheezing and then my mom took me to the hospital. Then they were like, ‘oh, the kid’s allergic to tree nuts.’” 

“Are you sure you’re not allergic to candy bars?” Taemin says, frowning slightly, watching Jimin unwrap a nut-free candy bar of some sort. 

“I would be dead by now. Don’t you know that the species of Jimin is made up of 80% candy bar?” Jimin quips, trying to keep a straight face but ultimately letting out a side-splitting laugh. 

“What about the other 20%?” Taemin asks, enjoying this side of Jimin. He loves Jimin’s cheeky nature and his mischievous, joke-loving personality. 

“10% sprinkles and chocolate chips.”

“And the remaining part?” He secretly hopes that Jimin will say something like ‘love’ but then again, it’s Jimin, drama queen (king?) and prince of teasing. 

“Cup noodles.”

“C-cup noodles?” Taemin squeaks, his voice going up higher and higher. “Cup noodles?”

“Yes, that’s right. I mean, we eat it every Wednesday evening, right? Maybe I should’ve been more specific. Cup noodles shared with you,” Jimin replies, kissing Taemin on the cheek for the first time in what feels like forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *double tae is taemin and taehyung. might do a chapter about how and why they're so close (there's nothing romantic here, promise)


	46. Double Tae

Flashback: 

“Who’s your date, Jimin?” Taehyung asks. Jimin giggles and tells his best friend to guess. 

“Ooh, Yoongi hyung?” Jimin shakes his head. “Jungkookie?” Nope. “How about that guy with the rainbow hair?”

“Sehun? Nope.” 

“Will you tell me if I’m right?” Jimin nods and motions for him to keep guessing. “How about...that guy you’re friends with?”

“Which one?”

“The one with the different coloured hair. The one that’s skinny, tall and gay.”

“Taemin?” 

“Yeah, him.” Jimin nods and Taehyung claps his hands. 

“He’s not gay. He’s pan. Why did you ask?” Jimin asks curiously. Taehyung shrugs off-handedly. 

“Just thought I’d talk to him a little. When are you seeing him?” Taehyung asks. 

“Tonight. We’re eating a cup noodle together.”

That evening, Taehyung takes Taemin aside while Jimin’s still fussing with his curls in his brown hair. 

“Yo, listen here, man. You better take care of Jimin really good, okay?” Taemin nods and looks a little scared of Taehyung, who’s trying to crack his knuckles to look menacing. “Don’t hurt his sweet little heart.”

“Okay...no offence, but was this really necessary? I mean, did you really have to push me against the wall?” Taemin whispers, flashbacks of his parents doing similar things to him appearing in his mind's eye. 

“Look, Jimin’s a teeny tiny baby, you see. He’s really sensitive; he finds people criticizing him difficult to get over. Not just that, but physically sensitive. He’s really allergic to peanuts and tree nuts. He’s got a form of anxiety and insomnia. Treat him well.”

“Alright. I’ll do my best,” Taemin says, bowing deeply. Upon seeing this, Taehyung feels bad for confronting the older Tae.

“Ah...I’m sorry. Kookie and I are just really worried; Jimin’s never had a long-term relationship before.” Taehyung sighs. 

“It’s okay. I’ll do my best,” Taemin says. And since then, he’s kept his promise really well, which is why Taehyung appreciates him a lot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm now taking suggestions for new chapters! also for my other fic - please leave comments as to what you wanna see next!


	47. Get well soon - pt. 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT ON 180716: whoops i said that jm paused the game. wasn't until i was rereading some chapters and realized that they were playing overwatch which can't be exited XD so i changed it to Halo which from my experience playing with older cousin can be paused? correct me if im wrong though
> 
> fun fact: said older cousin (hereafter referred to as 'older bro' because why not) actually was the reason why i started writing. it wasn't bts and shinee and kpop stuff at first - i wrote club penguin fanfics (older bro and i were obsessed with it) at first lmao

Don’t get mad at me, but Jungkook is the definition of a hypocrite. 

Remember when I said that he was easy to take care of when sick? Well, post-pubescent hormones make for a very “I’m Mr. Independent” Kookie. 

The second any of his hyungs sniffle, cough or feel chilly, he runs to them with a packet of tissues, a thermometer and pills. 

But when he doesn’t feel too great, he refuses to let anyone help him. It’s not until he’s nearly fainting when he’ll let his hyungs baby him. 

(For the rest of this chapter, the voice in your head that reads Kookie’s parts might wanna pinch their nose to sound like him.)

“I swear, I’m fine, hyung,” Jungkook rasps when Jimin interrogates him one morning. 

“No, you’re not! Lemme feel your forehead,” Jimin says, his left arm outstretched and trying to feel the maknae’s forehead. 

“Kookie, let Jimin feel your forehead,” Taehyung says. Sick as he is, Jungkook’s still whipped, so he stays still and allows Jimin to feel his forehead. 

“I think you’re fevering, Kook,” Jimin responds to the kid’s burning forehead. “Tae, can you get me the thermometer?” Taehyung does as Jimin’s told him, sticking the thermometer under Kookie’s tongue. 

“Yeah, he’s sick. 37.7 degrees,” Taehyung reads off the small screen. “Go to bed, Kookie. We’ll get the other hyungs over and then we can have a snack party at home. 

“I don’t want...if they come, they’re gonna fuss over me.” 

“Of course they will. But what harm can that do?” Jimin asks. “We can all be in our pajamas. None of us have lectures today, anyway. Well, except for Namjoon hyung. Don’t ask me why he chose philosophy. He won’t be here until the afternoon. Well? What do you say about a little bit of Halo?” Jungkook smiles and reaches for his controller. 

“Jungkookie!” Seokjin cries out the second he steps through the door. “Oh, Kookie, our baby Kookie, are you sick?” The whole show of affection makes Jungkook blush over his mollycoddling, but also makes him laugh over this dramatic display. 

“I’m alright, hyung,” Jungkook lies. He’s feeling shivery and his throat is killing him, but he’s not backing down from his act of toughness. Jimin, as the player with controller 1, pauses the game, leading to a very confused Kookie. 

“You need to take medicine, Jungkook-ah,” Jimin rebukes gently. Jungkook frowns and crosses his arms, trying to seem tough but actually just looking like a toddler that’s been told to put his toys away. 

“I don’t wanna. I don’t wanna take my medicine,” Kookie whines stubbornly, his voice shaking a little. Taehyung comes over and hugs Jungkook from behind. 

“Please, Kookie? Can you take it? For me?” Taehyung whispers into Kookie’s red ears. Upon hearing that, Jungkook bursts into tears. 

“Kook-kook,” Seokjin says softly, sounding just like Kookie’s mom. “C’mon, you need to take your medicine.” Thinking of his mom only makes the maknae cry harder. Jimin takes this opportunity to feed Kookie the medicine that tastes like poison.

“Can I call my mom?” Jungkook whispers through his sobs. Jimin nods and passes his phone to the crying boy. “I miss her.”

And it’s at this moment that Taehyung remembers just how young Kookie is. He realizes that everyone around him is older, and that’s not easy. 

And it’s at this moment that Kookie remembers how small he really is. He realizes that a certain pressure for him to be like everyone else is on his shoulders. But then he realizes how blessed he is to have his wonderful hyungs supporting him every step of the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i've never actually explained how 7 guys with the oldest and the youngest having a 5 year age gap are still at university together.
> 
> basically here's an explanation that no one asked for:  
> hyung line are doing master degrees  
> 95 line are in their second year of uni  
> kook is supposed to be with other 97 liners in last year of high school but him and some other good friends (gyeom and bambam) tested out of that year and just joined 96 line in uni
> 
> hmm this is interesting i might do a chapter on their backstories


	48. Get well soon - pt. 2

Jungkook knows that sweat means that he’s really hot. But he doesn’t feel that way. In fact, he’s shivering. He pulls his blanket and the sofa comforter over his head and begins to recite in his head the following:

**김수한무 거북이와 두루미 삼천갑자 동박사**

He repeats this in his head because this was all he remembers. His friend’s little brother taught him this while teaching him how to rap. He’s still freezing cold but he tries to resolve this by burying himself in the blankets even more. But as he does this more, he feels even colder and chilled right to the very bone. 

He wants Tae or Jimin hugging him right now, but he’s on the sofa and Yoongi hyung and Hoseok hyung are on the floor holding hands. There’s no way that he could jump over them without falling over. 

Suddenly, a deep cough is brewing from the depths of his lungs. He wants to cough but he knows that he will wake the whole neighborhood up. Finally, he can’t hold it in anymore; he coughs hard and he’s sure that people in Brazil can hear him. 

But lucky for him, the seven boys are all deep sleepers. Except for Jimin, of course, who tiptoes out, leaping gracefully over Sope. 

“Don’t cover up so much,” he whispers gently, pulling off the multiple layers covering Kookie, who whines and shivers in the cold. “I know, it’s cold. It’s okay.” 

Jungkook’s bangs are dampened with sweat. His heart rate is increasing by the minute. “Shh, don’t work yourself up,” Jimin says, petting Kookie’s mop of hair. Jungkook squirms uncomfortably. 

“Hyung, sleep with me…” he drawls. 

“Sleep- what? Jungkook, I’m not Tae.”

“I know.” Jimin is taken aback. Jungkook knows that Jimin is dating Taemin, and Jungkook’s dating Taehyung! 

“That’s not fair on either of our boyfriends,” Jimin whispers back, trying to reason with the sick boy. 

“I just feel lonely,” Kookie says, his voice shaking and sounding like he’s ready to cry. 

“How about I wake Taehyung up and we can lie on the floor together?” Jungkook nods and Jimin lifts him up, carrying him to the bedroom. 

“Tae Tae,” Jimin says, shaking Taehyung’s shoulder. Tae flies out of his bed, mumbling Jungkook’s name. 

“Can we sleep on the floor?” Jungkook asks in a tiny voice. 

“Of course,” Tae says without hesitation. And then, the three of them lie on the carpet together, their heads touching. And one by one, they all fall asleep.


	49. 96.5 liner

Although he’s quiet, people don’t know that Kookie’s incredibly smart. Before meeting his best friends (almost family), he was friends with Yugyeom, Bambam, Minghao, Mingyu and Seokmin. They stuck together in the process of completing their A-levels one year before they should’ve had to, and they stuck together in finding their way in university. 

Short-term friendships break apart the longer the friends don’t see each other. Long-term friendships don’t rely on time or the constant need to see each other. It started off over the when Seokmin met Jungkook’s friend, who brought his little brother along: Vernon, a guy that moved to Korea after living in New York for five years. Seokmin introduced Minghao and Mingyu to Vernon and eventually, that friend group grew to 13 people. 

If it weren’t for Yugyeom’s excellent study notes, Bambam may not have been able to follow Gyeom to university. Yugyeom was good at learning and managing his time, while Bambam was good at socializing and making friends. And best of all, he was always good at making Jungkook feel included.

However, at this point, he was the only one out of the six that didn’t have a university ‘family’ of his own, which was understandable seeing as he didn’t trust people easily. On the Tuesday before he went to Seoul, he sat down at the dining room table and went through his contacts list to see if there was anyone that he knew at the university. 

It might’ve been luck, fate or anything, really. But Jungkook scrolled to very special contact. 

Park Jimin -- one of the boys that would always look out for him when he got bullied on the playground.

 **jeon58:** hey hyung ik this is gonna sound really weird and we haven’t talked in a long time but i couldn’t help but notice you go to Korea University? Cos i’m coming next week

 **jimin1310:** omg kookie!!!

 **jimin1310:** it’s been too long

 **jimin1310:** but i thought you’re two years below? Why u coming now?

 **jeon58:** long story but they did this exam on some of us and then on the last day of school they told me and yugyeom, bambam, seokmin, mingyu and minghao to go to the university

 **jimin1310:** omg that’s awesome! I suppose you haven’t got anywhere to stay?

 **jeon58:** nope

 **jimin1310:** BRO BRO BRO

 **jimin1310:** THAT’S GREAT

 **jimin1310:** maybe you and me and my friend taehyung could room together!

Jungkook saw this message and smiled but really didn’t know what he was signing up for. 

To this day, he always thinks about this very special moment in his heart and regrets nothing at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mom are you proud of me i updated so much in the last few days even though i'm sick as kookie
> 
> "You're not as sick as me," Jungkook whines in the background.
> 
> "I'm sick enough to miss school," I object.
> 
> "Hey, but I am too!" Kookie says, giggling as he eats a chocolate chipped cookie (does this count as cannibalism?)
> 
> "Sick enough to miss school but still play Overwatch?" I tease. He rolls his eyes and slumps back into his makeshift pillow fort as if he were saying _I give up._


	50. A Letter

Dear Reader,

As I write this now, it’s hard to believe that we’ve been together for 50 chapters already. To every single one of you, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for even reading this. For having faith in me. For believing in this fic.

There definitely have been some tough times, from my multiple writer’s blocks to nearly orphaning this, to wanting to write other things than what would make a good storyline. For me, I find it easy to relate to Kookie’s character, and there’s been a period of time (like the last five chapters) where I just wanted to make it Jungkook-centric. But I forced myself to never do that because this work is for what really matters to me - you.

At first, I never thought that I would get such a brilliant reaction. It’s always discouraging to see other writers getting hundreds of thousands of kudos and hits, while I get one per chapter. But I see every new encouraging comment, supportive kudos or appreciating hit, I want to throw my phone across the room out of joy. Of course, if I were to actually do that, my phone would be like Yoongi’s. Each piece of feedback fills me up with happiness and love, covering me like a warm blanket. It gives me a sort of energy and thrill, spurring me to write another chapter.

But if I only had one fan, it would still mean the whole goddamn world to me. Why? Because someone out there cares. And the more I write, they continue to support me. When they’re happy, I’m happy. Because that’s what matters.

I sound like Jimin writing his love letter to Taemin. Whatever. I’m going to stop soon though before the maknae comes over and teases me for being able to write a love letter but not being able to actually have a love life. 

So there is one thing that I have left to say. It is nothing but a huge thank you to you for everything. I hope that we can stay together for much longer in future chapters. I love you!

With so much love,

Dglrd (TC)

\---

Bonus:

“Woah, 50 chapters, huh?” Taehyung says, lounging on the sofa, waiting for his boyfriend and his best friend and his favourite hyung to enter. 

And then it happens.

With 50 thin candles stuck in the frosting, Seokjin and Jimin are barely able to keep their own faces from melting. 

“Where’s Kookie?” Tae asks, ending in a higher tone than what he started with. Where is his beloved boyfriend? His adorkable, slightly emo, black clothes-loving baby?

And this is where wearing black helps because Taehyung didn’t even notice Kookie walk in and sneak behind where Tae is sitting.

He leans close to the older boy’s ear, and closes his eyes.

Before he…

Blows.

The.

Goddamn.

Kazoo.

Again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> see above. thank you so much for all your support, i love you!


	51. Workaholic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i promise i'll update my other fic soon

Sometimes, Seokjin will hang out with some friends to do extra acting practice. Sometimes, Yoongi will be out in the library for hours at a time to do writing. Sometimes, Hoseok will converse with his professor for way too long. Sometimes, Jimin just does too much dancing in the practice room and relies on Taemin to drag him home. Sometimes, Taehyung just really, really _needs_ to finish his coding off before he’s satisfied. Sometimes, Jungkook just wants to make his notes perfect. 

But Namjoon spends too long on both of his degrees. It’s to the point where he stays in the library overnight. 

He’s fortunate enough that he’s got Seokjin’s great ears, though. When Jin doesn’t hear Namjoon unlocking his door, he leaps out of bed and walks to the campus in his bathrobe to get Namjoon home. Even if it’s in the dead of the night, the coldest days of the winter, he leaves his apartment to make sure his best friend isn’t suffering.

So one night, he leaves his house and strolls through the bleak streets until he gets to the university. His bathrobe is flying through the wind, his hair beating against the freezing layers of his skin, his eyes barely able to penetrate through the black nothing. One hand is holding his phone and the other is in his pocket, holding his glasses and a pocket knife. He puts the glasses on and keeps a firm grip on his knife with each second having him grasp it tighter and hoping that he won’t have to use it. 

Finally, his trainers slap the marble surface of the school. He pushes open the back gate and enters the library. Curled up on a chair is Namjoon, whose eyes are as red as Satan’s constipation hemorrhoids. 

“C’mon, Joon. Let’s go home,” Seokjin says softly, grabbing Namjoon’s wrist and tugging slightly. 

“I’m not ready yet. I need to revise for the Buddhist afterlife test.” Seokjin’s at a loss for words, but he kneels down to Namjoon’s eye level.

“Joonie. You need to rest, okay? You can always study tomorrow morning,” he whispers, holding Namjoon’s hand and swinging it slightly. He stands up and Namjoon does the same. The two of them pack up in silence before Jin picks up the bag. Under normal circumstances, he would drop the bag on Namjoon’s shoulders, but he’s just thankful that they’re even on their way home.

They walk home in a peaceful breeze. It’s nothing like the harsh winds that Seokjin felt while walking to the university, but more of a relaxed mood. The wind reflects how he feels. When he was panicking about Joon’s safety, the wind beat him around. But now, as they walk home, the wind simply brushes over them, both feeling safe and sound in each other’s presence.

When they get to the apartment, Namjoon gets ready to open his door before Seokjin grabs his wrist and pulls him into the apartment.

“You’re staying over tonight. It’ll be like a sleepover, but just us, okay? Then I’ll know you’re safe.” 

It sounds overprotective, but Namjoon really couldn’t appreciate it more.


	52. You're not okay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so so sorry for this...
> 
> also trigger warning for (kinda vivid) anaphylaxis description

“Hyung!” Jimin exclaims, all excited when he gets to Taemin’s house. Taemin pokes his head around the corner and smiles, holding Jimin tight in his arms. “I brought cupcakes!” Taemin smiles and watches as Jimin opens the box. 

“Let’s eat,” Taemin says, putting his cupcake next to Jimin’s and clinking it like a mug. After they finish, they plan on snuggling a bit on the bed. Jimin puts his face into Taemin’s sweater and hugs when suddenly, he feels weird.

It’s that feeling that he’s so familiar with. His nose is tingling and he starts feeling a pain in his throat. “Hyung, I feel weird.” He thinks he knows what this is but he doesn’t want to let on. 

“What’s wrong?” Taemin asks. “Are you having an allergic reaction?” He’s trying to stay calm but all attempts to keep his voice steady are in vain. 

“I-I think so. But it’s only a little bit. It doesn’t seem too severe.” Despite this, the younger doesn’t seem to be so sure of this; in fact, he’s saying this in a tiny voice and he’s completely frightened. Taemin shakes his head; this phrase is something he’s heard before.

“Where’s your epipen?” Taemin asks firmly, trying to keep his head screwed on the right way. His hands are shaking a lot now and he's absolutely terrified since he knows that anaphylaxis can be life threatening. _Now isn't the time to be having a panic attack while your boyfriend could be dying of an allergy_ , Taemin repeats to himself in his head so that he won't completely lose it. 

“I don’t need it, hyung,” Jimin lies. His lips are a little swollen, more so than usual. He refuses to admit that he feels as if his breathing is being cut off, that all attempts to keep his airways open are failing. He takes shallow breaths in. Taemin notices this and panics.

“Yeah, you do. Jimin, where is your epipen?” Jimin points at the front pouch of his bag and as Taemin pulls it out, ready to use it, he can hear a wheezing sound coming from Jimin’s chest. 

“You need it,” Taemin says, and Jimin’s not even going to try and deny it now. With shaky hands, Taemin yanks the blue safety cap off and gets ready to stab Jimin with it. He holds Jimin close, ready to inject the adrenaline in, before he hears his baby's barely choked back sobs. At this point, Jimin is shaking, scared shitless because he's pretty much choking on some kind of peanut or tree nut. 

“It’s okay. It’ll just be for a few seconds,” Taemin assured his frantic child-like boyfriend sitting in his lap. He forces it in through the layer of jeans. When he withdraws it, he gently massages the spot that he poked. A few tears roll down Jimin’s cheeks. Drained from the sudden rush of adrenaline, he flops back onto the bed, lying down and closing his eyes.

“I’m sorry…” Taemin says quietly, his voice trailing off. 

To Jimin’s surprise, Taemin starts crying as well. “What’s wrong, hyung?” Jimin asks weakly, the entire allergic reaction having exhausted him completely. Using all of his power, he pushes himself upwards to sit up. His head feels as light as a feather. 

Taemin wants to tell him what's wrong. He wants to say that he's a bad boyfriend for partially being responsible in making Jimin eat something that caused a whole allergic reaction. He wants to beat himself up for causing Jimin’s near panic attack, complete anaphylaxis and tears. He wants to cry all the pain that he took from Jimin’s helpless, tear-filled eyes. 

But he knows that if Jimin was to watch his hyung cry, he would blame himself for that, cry and cry for worrying his hyung and not be able to get over it. 

So rather than stopping his tears, he stops the need to stop crying. Instead, he grabs Jimin’s shoulders and leads him to the door. 

“Let's go,” Taemin says. “We can have the campus nurse take a look at you.” And with that, he smiles, feeling better about his baby feeling better before they go to the school hand in hand.


	53. Goodnight Jiminie~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had this Great Idea™ last night...why don't you guys leave questions for me to answer and I'll get the boys to tell you what we think! 
> 
> ik it's a crappy idea

“Your wish is my command,” Taemin declares, forcing Jimin into his bed. “Oh, and you might wanna let Kookie and Taehyung know that you’re here.” Jimin nods and texts his best friends before curling up into a small ball on Taemin’s bed, hating how helpless he feels. 

“I don’t wanna be stuck on the bed,” he whines. Taemin is in the kitchen and makes a cup of coffee for both of them. When he gets back, he sets them on the bedside table.

“Um, okay...every wish except for that one.” 

“Okay, okay. How about a thousand kisses?” Jimin begs. Taemin, of course, agrees without hesitation, almost tackling Jimin in order to deliver the mass kisses. 

After a good few minutes of kissing, Taemin turns to look at the smaller boy’s face, which is all red, either from the emotions he’s feeling from his favourite person’s kisses, or the rash that broke out onto his face, or both. “Is that a thousand yet?” Taemin asks curiously, lying next to Jimin.

“Yeah. I’m kinda sleepy, hyung.” Taemin smiles, hugging Jimin from behind as the two of them slide under the blankets. 

“Hey Siri, can you switch the lights off please?” Taemin says kindly into his phone. To Jimin’s amazement, he hears an acknowledgement of that from Siri before the lights turn off. Taemin holds his boyfriend close, allowing for Jimin to rest his face in the older Min’s shoulder, who turns onto his back so that Jimin’s lying on his stomach. Jimin tenses up.

“What’s wrong?” Taemin asks.

“Nothing. I was just kinda half-expecting Jungkook to blow a kazoo in my ear,” Jimin admits shyly, wriggling around so that he’s comfortable. 

The two of them lie there in silence for half an hour. However, they both know that neither of them are asleep. Taemin is just about falling asleep when he feels something wet on his chest, only to realize that it’s Jimin’s tears.

“What’s wrong?” Taemin asks again for the second time that night. Jimin, who didn’t realize that his tears were noticed, wipes his eyes hastily. 

“I’m sleepy but I can’t sleep. Why do I have to be like this, hyung? Why did I have to get an allergic reaction earlier? Why can’t I sleep? Why do I have to have insomnia?” Calmly and quietly, Taemin holds Jimin tightly and stands up, leaving the bed. He wraps his arms around the younger boy’s shaking shoulders, and when he feels Jimin grab onto his waist as well, he begins swaying very gently. It’s not much, just some small bounces to try and get Jimin to calm down. 

“Jimin-ah,” Taemin whispers softly, similar to what Jimin’s mom used to do for him. “Shh, it’s okay, sweetie.” Taemin’s lips are just touching Jimin’s soft ears, his voice so quiet that Jimin’s nearly straining his ears to hear his hyung’s comforting words. One of Taemin’s hands are on the back of his baby’s fluffy hair, while the other is on his back, rubbing in small, comforting circles that lure Jimin into the land of sleep and calm. 

“You wanna sleep? You can fall asleep. I’ve got you, I promise,” Taemin says soothingly. Jimin is still, to some degree, tense within the older’s arms, but slowly and surely, each limb relaxes. He brings the two of them into bed, sure that Jimin’s asleep by now. And then, he knows that he can relax too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jimin is so soft i love him so much 
> 
> also i wish i had a taemin that would help me fall asleep like that


	54. Operation Kazoo and Alternate Universes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING for in-depth kissing description and sex mention/implied sex. Proceed with caution.

Jungkook is mad. 

Scrap that, actually. He's legitimately pissed. 

Earlier on in the day, Jimin had thrown the sacred kazoo into a drawer that only he had keys to, right in front of Jungkook’s very eyes. 

It is the dead of the night. Actually, Kook has found a very nifty solution to Jimin’s sleep problems. It's exactly what helps himself: ASMR. 

So while Jimin has already drifted off, Jungkook sneaks into the bathroom and carefully takes off the necklace that has the key attached to it. With the shiny piece of metal glimmering between his index finger and thumb, he goes back to the drawer.*

Inside, he sees his treasures. There's the red plastic kazoo that he used for the last few months, but there's also the silver metal kazoo that he first bought and thought he lost at the end of the first semester. 

He smiles and puts both of them in his own cupboard, but then gets an idea, his grin twisting into an evil smirk that blatantly suggests that he's about to _get up to no good._

He wants to get revenge on Jimin. He needs to get revenge on Jimin. He giggles a little, with a slight villain-esque sound to it, but mostly sounding like a five year old who found a way to get more cookies (is this cannibalism?) despite not eating his vegetables.

Once more, his hand reaches the bathroom door and he twists the handle, sneaking up to the bathtub where Jimin is soundly asleep. He crouches down, presses one end of the kazoo to his lips, the other just at Jimin’s ear. 

And then he blows hard, creating a loud, painful sound that resonates throughout the room and doesn't just wake Jimin up. It makes him sit right up, massaging his red ear.

“Jeon Jungkook!” he yells, not unlike an old man scolding a kid that threw his basketball over the fence. But it's too late; Jungkook’s already run off back into his bed. But ever grateful for Kook’s suggestion of ASMR, Jimin leans back into his cushions and decides to forgive and forget. 

**Alternate ending (continue from the *):**

He sticks the key in, but it doesn't turn. He turns it over and tries again. It's not working at all. No matter what he does, he can't open the drawer. 

He carefully examines both the key and the keyhole. Then he finds out why it's not working. 

The key isn't actually a key - it's a bunch of broken staples that Jimin stuck together to create a fake key. 

“The little son of a bitch tricked me,” Kookie grumbles**, throwing the ‘key’ back into the bathtub and heading back to his bed. 

**Alternate ending to the alternate ending (start from **):**

“What the hell?” Jungkook says out loud after calling Jimin a son of a bitch. He throws the key back into Jimin’s bathtub. 

“Where the hell is the real key and why the hell have you taken my kazoo?” Jungkook asks Jimin, clearly pissed off.***

Jimin hands the real key back to Jungkook, who giggles. Jimin smiles as the bunny-like kid hops back into the living room. 

And then immediately regrets it when he hears Jungkook’s kazoo screaming through the corridors. 

**Alternate ending to alternate ending to alternate ending; this is where the trigger scene starts (start from ***):**

“I don't have your key,” Jimin admits honestly, raising his hands so that his palms face the ceiling. He shrugs a little to make his point even clearer. “Tae does.”

Jungkook nods and smiles, running off to Taehyung’s bed. “Hyung,” he whines. “Can I have the key please?” He wraps his legs around Tae and bounces lightly on his chest. Taehyung lets out a grunt as if he were rejecting Kookie.

Suddenly, without warning, Tae pulls Kook close so that they start kissing. Tae’s hand snakes up Kookie’s bare back, rubbing it in circles while thoroughly interested in the kiss. Jungkook passionately drives his tongue to the back of Taehyung’s throat. Tae breaks away, trying to catch his breath, letting out non stop moaning about how great of a kisser Jungkook is. 

“I swear, your tongue got right down to my tonsils. Seriously, why didn't you tell me that you could nearly choke me with your tongue?” Tae asks. Jungkook is quiet for a bit before he cracks up. 

“That's not the only thing that'll choke you tonight,” Jungkook giggles, wiggling his eyebrows a little and not-so-subtly ~~glancing~~ staring at his crotch. 

“And this is where I'm going to have to step in,” Jimin hastily says, drawing the curtains to cover the two other boys. “Before all of you guys, including you, author, get carried away.” He laughs and winks, before the two of us leave the others to do what they need to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello sorry I'm overseas right now so I won't update as much. Sorry, I'll do my best to update more :)))


	55. Taxi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for not publishing~ I had a big test but still I should've announced it. Enjoy the new chapter!

Yoongi remembers that when Jungkook first came to Seoul, his Busan accent was quite strong. So strong that most taxi drivers couldn’t understand him. So strong that his muscles were scared of the accent.

One evening, Yoongi treated Kook to a sandwich in a mall. One thing led to another, and before they knew it, they were buying burgers instead of sandwiches. The burgers were so delicious with juicy, tender meat that melted in their mouths, soft buns ~~a little like the Jibooty~~ that protected the perfectly grilled cheese and the palette-cleansing lettuce from falling apart everywhere. It was so good that they forgot to actually leave until the shop closed down. By then, the subway lines had closed and they had no choice but to get a taxi. 

This proves how much Yoongi loves Jungkook (platonically, of course). He would be blue by now if it costed money to breathe. But still, he paid a taxi to go back to Han River before going back to the apartment, since Jungkook wanted to go to see Yugyeom there. 

“Alrighty, I think the river is like, near here? Do you think you could drop me off here?” Kook said. Yoongi told the driver this, who probably didn’t really understand the slight slur and fast pace of Busan satoori. Cranky and impatient, the driver turned to look at them.

“You want me to drop you off here? It’s a busy area and it’s near a no parking area,” the driver sighed, rolling his eyes. Jungkook stared blankly, his doe-like eyes gazing into Yoongi’s cat-like eyes and trying to process everything the driver said.

“Look, kid. I don’t have all day. What do you wanna do?” the driver retorted, losing the little amount of patience he had to begin with. Yoongi’s face was covered in panic, so he flung the car door open. 

“Quick, Jungkook!” Yoongi half-screamed, nearly shoving Jungkook out onto the pavement and closing it hastily before rearranging his seatbelt.

It wasn’t until Yoongi saw Taemin in the apartment lobby before he thought of Jimin, then of Kookie. 

Then he cursed under his breath. He felt so guilty for kicking Kookie out of the car in a moment of panic. He wanted to call Kook, but he remembered that the maknae didn't have a phone. 

So that's how he ended up sprinting to Namjoon’s house. “Joon. Joon. Joon!” Yoongi shouted as loudly as he could without waking up the rest of the neighborhood. “Wake up, bro. Please, wake up.”

“Shit...sorry, hyung. Is everything okay?” the younger of the two asked. 

“No. Could you, um, could you call Jackson for me? Please?” Yoongi begged, as if he weren't the older of the two in the situation. 

“Sure, what for?” Namjoon replied, unplugging his phone from the charger and trying to find Jackson’s contact. 

“I don't have Yugyeom’s number. Could Jackson check with Yugyeom to see if Kook’s with him?” Namjoon’s face was contort with puzzlement but nonetheless he pressed his phone to his ear. 

“Hello? Jackson?” Namjoon said. “Yeah, it's me, Joon. Can you do Yoongi and me a favour? Can you check if Jungkook is with Yugyeom? Oh, thank you so much, Jackson. Love you. Kay, bye.” He put his phone down and looked at Yoongi in the eye.

“If you don't mind me asking, what happened to Kookie?” he asked inquisitively. 

“I might've kicked him out of the taxi? Because the driver got mad and I panicked?” Yoongi said quietly, not looking at Namjoon in the eyes but at the phone instead, waiting for Jackson’s update. As if on cue, it rang. 

“Hello? Jackson? Oh my gosh, thank you so so much. Thank Yugyeom for us too,” Namjoon said as if he had heard that Kookie was in the car behind an accident but not in the actual accident. 

“He's alright. Yugyeom’s got hold of him and fortunately, Yugyeom has a licence to drive. He's gonna get Kookie home later,” Namjoon reassured Yoongi. 

“Thanks, bro,” Yoongi said breathlessly, having expected that Jungkook would be by the middle of the pavement, all alone and scared. 

Later, when Kookie returned from the spontaneous picnic, he was surprised to find Yoongi, not in bed or asleep, but on the lobby sofa and sat up rigid and waiting for Kookie’s arrival. As soon as the maknae entered, Yoongi opened his arms for a hug, which Kook accepted before realizing that Yoongi was crying. 

“What's wrong, hyung?” He had never seen Yoongi cry like this before and as a matter of fact, he had never seen Yoongi cry at all. 

“I could've left you on the pavement there all alone and you would've been scared,” Yoongi cried into Jungkook’s shoulder. 

“So...you're crying because you failed your attempt to get rid of me?” Jungkook asked in mock innocence but really just trying to make his hyung laugh. 

“No! I meant that if you got kidnapped or something on that road it would be my fault…”

“But hyung, I didn't get kidnapped, right? I'm safe now and I was at fault too. I was so stupid to get off at a random pavement. But it's not important now that we know we're both safe. So don't cry, okay? You don't need to cry anymore. Let's love each other even more in the future,” Jungkook said, holding his pinky out. Yoongi smiled a little and wrapped his own pinky around Kookie’s, promising to love and support each other in the future. 

And even though the two of them both have their own boyfriends now, it hasn't stopped their beautiful platonic love and care for each other.


	56. Protecting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MORE PLATONIC LOVEEEE

It’s that time of the year where everyone works themselves too hard. It’s also that time of year where people go see their friends to get rid of their stress. 

So while Jungkook goes to see Yugyeom* and Taemin goes to see Jongin, the 95 liners, namely Taehyung and Jimin, go to buy ice cream together. 

The great thing about our characters is that despite being committed to their own partners, they are completely lax about what their partners do with their friends. So while the two wait for the lift, Jimin runs his fingers through Tae’s hair, which is growing into a mullet and covering his neck. At that moment, the lift doors open. A booming voice rings through their ears. It’s an awfully familiar voice. Jimin pulls his fingers out from Taehyung’s hair and pulls his hoodie up to cover his face. 

Although Tae’s never came across this man, Jimin knows exactly who it is. The smell of beer and cigarettes, the mouth breathing and the leather jacket does not lie. It’s Leather Jacket Man again. He looks up to prove his theory, and although he’s not wrong, he knows he’s made a mistake. 

“Ah, Park Jimin....” Leather Jacket Man sneers before glancing at Taehyung. “You’ve got a new boyfriend, faggot? Lee Taemin wasn’t good enough for you. I don’t blame you.” Jimin doesn’t react. 

“He wasn’t, was he? Lee Taemin couldn’t satisfy you? He was a dick to you. That’s it, right? You guys got into a fight and you got a new boyfriend to make Lee Taemin jealous. You got yourself another boyfriend. Another pretty boy. They’re looking less and less like boys, aren’t they? Why don’t you become straight?” 

“Because people don’t choose their sexuality,” Taehyung says boldly. Jimin gently pulls Tae’s sweatshirt as if to tell him to be careful. “Oh, and we’re just friends. We’re both very happy with our boyfriends right now. Jimin’s still with Taemin and I’m still with my boyfriend.”

“Oh, so you’re a fag as well? Who even are you?” Leather Jacket Man jeers. Taehyung does not back down. He holds his hand out for a handshake.

“Kim Taehyung. A pleasure to make your acquaintance.” Leather Jacket Man slaps Taehyung’s hand away.

“Don’t...don’t do anything...don’t react,” Jimin mumbles, staring at the floor. 

“Yeah, Kim Taehyung. Don’t react,” Leather Jacket Man says, mocking Jimin’s voice. Jimin is starting to panic now. His breath gets shallower but he reminds himself to breathe deeply so that he won’t get worked up in front of Leather Jacket Man, which he’s sure that will add to the fuel of teasing.

But Tae stands up straight from his previous position of leaning against the wall. He glares at Leather Jacket Man, who glares back. And then Leather Jacket Man briefly glances at Jimin, who’s trying not to have a panic attack. Leather Jacket Man mocks that, throwing in some fake shallow breaths and shaking. Jimin wants to laugh at the comedic nature of Leather Jacket Man’s horrible performance, but he can only seem to feel fear and anxiety. 

This only adds to Taehyung’s urge to give what Leather Jacket Man deserves. “What are you gonna do, Park Jimin?” Leather Jacket man teases. “You gonna piss yourself like a baby?” Jimin shakes his head. “Are you sure? Park Jimin’s not stupid enough to piss himself? Well then, I’ll make you!” With that, Leather Jacket Man lunges forward to strike Jimin in the stomach. While it doesn’t give Jimin the humiliation that Leather Jacket Man had hoped for, it hurts a lot, winding Jimin and making him fall to the floor. 

But just as Leather Jacket Man straightens himself out, Taehyung has had enough. He hates watching his best friend get punched in the stomach, so he aims his fist right into the eye of Leather Jacket Man, who clutches the spot right where Tae hit him, howling in pain. Luckily, the duo gets to their floor right at that time. Taehyung uses his other hand to grab Jimin’s wrist and sprints out of the lift. 

When they get back to their room, Jimin’s in tears. “It hurts a lot, doesn’t it? It’s okay, Jiminie,” Tae says, thoroughly shaken but trying not to cry. Getting Jimin to admit to pain is like rocket science. So when he nods without hesitation, Taehyung knows that his fellow 95 liner is in a lot of pain.

“I-it hurts so bad,” Jimin cries. He clings to Tae’s right arm, which leaves the left one to reach out and gently rub the spot that Leather Jacket Man struck. 

“Can I take a look? Like, make sure you’re okay?” Tae asks. Jimin shakes his head, taking Taehyung by surprise. 

“Why not?”

“Because my abs ran away from home.” Jimin holds his hoodie down firmly so that Tae can’t check.

“C’mon, Jimin. It’s important to know if you’re okay. I won’t judge your abs or anything. Please, can I?” Jimin concedes, letting go of the hoodie. Tae lifts up Jimin’s shirt gently and touches the spot where Leather Jacket Man hit him. 

“It says here that if it’s not tender or hard, you should be okay,” Taehyung says, reading off his phone. “It doesn’t feel hard...when I press it, does it hurt a lot? Like, does it hurt more when I touch it? Or is it the same always?”

“The same always.”

“Then you should be fine. Wait, it says here that the only cure for that is cuddles.” Jimin frowns. 

“It doesn’t. That isn’t scientifically sound.” Tae rolls his eyes and laughs.

“No, it says here that it’s to do with the mitochondria or photosynthesis or the systema reproductionis or something like that,” Tae jokes. Jimin laughs as hard as he can without getting himself into more pain. “Either way, it’s medical advice, okay? We have to obey medical advice.” And with that, Jimin finds himself in Taehyung’s tight hug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *speaking of gyeom please read my got7 fanfic to help end turtle slavery or something like that :P https://archiveofourown.org/works/14125323/chapters/32549691 
> 
> i kinda picture leather jacket man to look like thanos in a leather jacket lmao
> 
> jimin and tae are adorable


	57. 'Platonicism'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> remember when i used to post every day lmaoooo

“What’s that word?” Seokjin asks, sitting on the back of Namjoon’s armchair and peering over Namjoon’s shoulder as he writes something down.

“‘Platonicism,’” Namjoon replies. “Like how ‘to be narcissistic’ is to ‘the ideology of narcissism’. ‘To be platonic’ is to ‘the ideology of ‘platonicism’.’” Seokjin furrows his eyebrows together.

“But is it a word?” 

“Anything can be a word,” Namjoon says. “A word is simply letters strung together to create a new meaning. Or it could be a word already existing with a suffix added to it. In this case, it’s ‘ism’, which describes the ideology of something.” Trust Namjoon to give a detailed explanation of something. 

“So what context are you using it in?” Seokjin asks.

“Well,” Namjoon hesitates, before lowering his laptop lid. “I was wondering, since you don’t want a romantic relationship with me...”

“I didn’t mean with you, specifically. I still love you as a friend,” Seokjin interjects hastily. 

“So we’re ‘platonicism.’” Namjoon’s eyes twinkle. “It’s something like a...a cucumber? A broccoli? It was some vegetable to describe a partner in this kind of relationship.”

“A zucchini?” 

“Yeah, that. A zucchini,” Namjoon says, looking up at Seokjin, who’s resting his chin on the top of Namjoon’s head. 

“We’re not romance, but we’re not exactly a normal friendship,” Seokjin says quietly, hesitating on every word.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that we’re not your everyday friendship now, are we?” Seokjin replies, more confident as he plays with Joon’s hair. “We do stuff like sleeping in the same bed and hugging 42 seconds beyond the conventional friendship hug and cheek kisses.”

“Yeah. We’re not only friends. But we’re not in a relationship. We’re just...very, very good friends. So what are we then?” Namjoon asks. 

“‘Platonicism,’” Seokjin deadpans. He looks at Namjoon, who, as the creator of the word, can’t stifle a laugh. Jin’s laughter cannot be held in anymore, and he cracks up too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if this was a low quality chapter let me know because i got this idea while crying over the fact that none of my friends will ever have a queerplatonic relationship with me !!1!1! ;-;


	58. Storm of June '18, pt.

“It’s raining,” Jungkook says, sitting on the windowsill and kissing Tofu. Taehyung goes to join Kookie at the window. 

“Wanna go for a walk?” Tae asks. Upon hearing the word ‘walk’, Tofu leaps up to the door and grabs her leash. 

“Okay,” Jungkook replies while laughing before getting their girlie on her leash to go out.

Once they’re on the slippery road, Tofu begins sniffing the path that they walk on. Tae jokes that she’s searching for any poops. Kookie gives some of his coffee to Tae. And as the rain starts to pour a little heavier, Taehyung pulls out an umbrella to cover the two of them. Kook leans on his boyfriend’s shoulder, gently nuzzling his neck and closing his eyes to enjoy Tae’s scent, kind of like how Tofu would sniff her favourite blanket. When Jungkook’s with Tae, he feels safe and secure, like Tae protects him from all the things that scare him - from public speaking to two-headed dragons (a real problem when it comes to playing D&D) to microwaves.

To Tae, Kookie is what makes him feel happy. He’s the reason why Tae loves life, the reason why Tae loves to do his hobbies, the reason why Tae loves to do Kookie’s hobbies as well. Even the way Kookie interacts with other people makes him happy. Jungkook, in Tae’s eyes, is the purest, kindest, most innocent soul to ever walk this planet. 

The rain starts to pour even harder now. Tofu’s fur is drenched now, and she’s evidently displeased when she shakes her body to get rid of the rainwater she absorbed. The umbrella can’t shield them much more, so they decide to head back. 

Once they get back to the room, despite having an umbrella, both Tae and Kookie are dripping wet. They go into the bathroom, and Tofu follows behind them, sitting next to Jimin’s pillow. Taehyung takes a towel and dries Jungkookie’s hair, but when he starts to do that, Jungkook leans forward and gives Tae a kiss.

“I love you, hyung.”

“I love you too, Kookie,” Tae says as he returns the kiss and dries Kookie’s hair.


	59. Storm of June '18, pt.2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning for extreme fluff and cuteness
> 
> im supposed to be building a robot right now but look what im doing ! 
> 
> i'll write another two; one between sope and one between taeminxjimin (2min is minhoxtaemin; can't do that)
> 
> suggest a ship name between taemin and jimin for me please

“Catch,” Seokjin says while standing on the balcony. He takes the 36th popcorn piece and flicks it down to the bottom floor. 

“C’mon, you gotta throw it straight down otherwise I’m gonna lose,” Namjoon whines from the ground floor, when the popcorn bounces on the wet pavement. “I’m gonna catch a cold at this rate!”

“I’m trying my best!” Jin yells back before throwing the 42nd popcorn piece down. “If I can’t do it by the 50th one, we can swap places!” Namjoon nods, moving a little to the left to catch the popcorn, when he crushes a pile of popcorn by his feet. The entire street is basically covered in popcorn that Seokjin could not throw into Namjoon’s mouth.

It doesn’t take long for them to get to 50 popcorn pieces. Namjoon practically sprints into the building and up the lift, before he is welcomed by Seokjin with a fluffy white towel. He’s dripping from head to toe, nearly shivering, but the warmth of Jin’s embrace is enough to return his body temperature to normal. It’s not nearly enough to dry his clothes but at least he’s warmer now. He goes into the room to change his clothes before he comes back out.

“Pass me the popcorn. It’s your turn,” Joonie says in what should be a menacing way, but he ends up being plain adorable. 

So Seokjin hurries downstairs in the pouring rain, and Namjoon strides over to the balcony with the popcorn. 

Jin’s mouth is wide open, ready to catch Namjoon’s popcorn piece. But unexpectedly, Namjoon throws the popcorn upwards. When it falls, it lands in a tree. 

“Oops, bad throw!” Namjoon says in jest, giggling the whole time. 

“That was awful,” Seokjin remarks, rolling his eyes in mock frustration. 

“It's payback time,” the younger of the two growls, before the two of them fall over laughing.

And then Namjoon seizes his opportunity to throw the popcorn into Jin’s mouth that is open wide from laughing. 

He scores.


	60. Storm of July '18 (Basically Storm of June '18 pt.3)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Notice at the end]
> 
> anyway, apologies for the long wait; enjoy!

While Tae and Kookie like to run around in the rain, and Namjoon and Seokjin act like total goofballs in the rain, Taemin and Jimin prefer to take it easy at home. 

“Pillow fort!” Jimin squeals, clapping his small hands together while the two of them pull chairs, blankets and of course, pillows, together to create a cozy house. 

“Why are we drinking hot chocolate in the heat of summer?” Taemin asks Jimin, who’s on top of a bookshelf trying to find Christmas lights. 

“For atmosphere. It’s not got nuts in it, right? The hot chocolate, I mean,” Jimin replies. Since the last time with the cupcakes, he’s vowed to himself that there’s no way in hell he wants to put Taemin through the anxiety and stress of trying to deal with another anaphylaxis episode again. 

“No nuts. Quadruple checked; I promise,” Taemin assures the younger boy, who’s managed to find the Christmas lights and is now tangled up in them. In Taemin’s eyes, Jimin looks so pure and soft; his milky white skin contrasting his black shorts, and his blue sweater covering his fingers that brush his hair out of his eyes.

“I might need a little help here, hyung,” Jimin admits, the lights all stuck around his torso and wrapping around his arms. Taemin carries Jimin down from the top of the bookshelf (how is he so light?) and gently pulls the lights away from his body. 

“You’re like my little kitty cat,” Taemin coos, tickling Jimin on his tummy. “The hot chocolate’s ready, wanna go into our pillow fort?” 

“Wait, we need to put up the Christmas lights,” Jimin says. After about five times of getting stuck in the lights, they’re up, the blankets are balanced on the chairs, the pillows are surrounding them and they cuddle there with steaming glasses of hot chocolate in front of them. 

“I love rainy days like this,” Jimin whispers, hot chocolate melting down his throat. 

“I thought you like snow.”

He nods, but pauses for a bit before replying. “Snow is my favourite, but I love cozy rainy days where we can just be together and cuddle indoors and be together.”

Taemin nods, and then he’s completely silent as he goes into his mind, thinking about anything and everything. He hates rainy days -- they’re the days that cause his mood to shift; the days that cause him to just want to stay indoors, blankly scrolling through Tumblr, mindlessly flipping between Pokemon Go and Flappy Bird and lying on the sofa like a zombie, with no interest in doing anything. But they’re also the days that Jimin will call and ask to come up to Taemin’s apartment; the days that make him feel a little less lonely. They’re the days that they spend building pillow forts while snuggling, sipping hot chocolate and maybe even doing a little dancing if their radiating happiness beats the rain. 

Because they’re together, these are the days that make them genuinely feel light and happy.


	61. Taemin's Birthday Gift

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahh sorry a sope chapter will be released soon it's just that it's taking longer due to the fact that all my ideas for that chapter were super depressing and also I need to get this chapter out (even though it's not 18th July anymore)
> 
> bUT HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAEMIN I LOVE YOU BOI NEVER GONNA STOP LOVING YOU BOI ALL THE BEST BIRTHDAY BOI YOU ROCK ILY SO MUCH HERE'S TO ANOTHER GREAT YEAR!
> 
> (at one point i seriously considered taemin as my ultimate bias but now I'm just stuck here between choosing daesung jimin taemin or woozi)

Taemin hates the fact that he was born at four in the morning. Because right now, there is a very happy boy right outside his door and said boy happens to always insist on wishing his boyfriend a happy birthday. 

But really, Taemin cannot resist this kind of request. He opens the door to Jimin, who’s dressed in a certain yellow hoodie.

“Happy birthday, hyung!” Jimin squeals, jumping into Taemin’s arms and giving him a very special birthday kiss, consisting of one on the left ear (not the right ear), one on each eyelid, two on the right eyebrow and a big, wet one on the lips. 

“You look adorable,” Taemin tells the younger boy, who hops around while the black dog ears on the hoodie bounce around. 

“I know. You gave me this hoodie,” Jimin replies, grinning. He takes the hood down, revealing electric blue hair with a few streaks of blonde in it. “How do I look? I know you always wanted me to dye my hair in a colour other than pink and orange, and I thought that us having a matching hairstyle would be really cool, like-”

Taemin sees the real effort that Jimin put into his hair. He looks adorable like that, with blue strands of hair brushing his eyelids, like how Taemin wants to stroke Jimin’s cheek. He sees how Jimin rests his cheek on his palm, and oh how he wishes he were Jimin’s palm!* He gets Jimin to sit down on the sofa and pours a cup of tea for the two of them. “Do you want to do anything today?”

Jimin smiles to himself as if he has a few tricks up his hoodie’s sleeve. Jimin never understood that metaphor, really. He prefers to wear oversized clothing, so nothing can ever stay in his sleeve. The only things in his sleeve are his arms, which have goosebumps on them from being cold all the time.

I digress. Well, Jimin digresses.

“It’s your call, birthday boy. One thing - Jongin, Sungwoon, Moonkyu and I organized you a dinner. And then maybe we can go to the roof later?” Jimin suggests, his voice hopeful. Taemin nods, excited to see his friends and then look at the view of beautiful Seoul from a higher place. “Oh, and I got you this.” Jimin produces a wrapped present from behind his back. 

“What is it?” Taemin asks curiously, his inquisitive nature piercing through the wrapping. 

“Open it and you’ll see,” Jimin answers, handing Taemin the box. The older of the two unfolds the tightly packed wrapping paper and finds a watch in there. 

Upon opening it, Taemin smiles, cheeks hiding eyes that swirl with tears. “What’s this?” he asks the smaller boy, examining it a little as though he were looking at each aspect to compliment each part.

“I-I made it,” Jimin stammered. Did Taemin like it? What did he think of it? Would he wear it? Was it a good enough gift? “I don’t know if it’s good enough though. It’s okay if you don’t wear-”

“Are you crazy?” Taemin asks, voice commanding silence from Jimin, who frets and worries like a child.

“Of course I’ll wear it! I love it so much; it’s beautiful. Thanks, Jiminie,” he continues, tears rolling down his cheeks. “I love you. If you don’t mind me asking, how did you make it?”

“I bought the mechanisms, of course. But I bought a leather belt and cut it into smaller pieces to make the strap. And then I put the glass case on it.” He’s quiet for a moment before he continues on. “Are you sure it’s okay? Are you sure you’ll wear it?” He’s in a right little panic now, doubting whether Taemin, also known as the most supportive guy in the world, will like a present that his boyfriend made himself.

“Of course,” Taemin responds patiently, petting Jimin’s mop of hair. “Of course I’ll wear it. I love it, you know. And I love you as well.”

“I love you too, hyung. Happy birthday,” Jimin whispers, hugging Taemin close.

Deep down, they know that they’ll both love each other for as long as Jimin’s gift to Taemin ticks, which will be on and on, forever and ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *i can't stand reading romeo and juliet (ironic, huh, seeing as there's a reference right in this chapter). like seriously "romeo oh romeo why the f*ck are you romeo" idk juliet go ask him (i guess you did though) but look, yo boi romeo was deeply infatuated with rosaline and then he loved you and then decided you're his soulmate. so um does that mean if he found someone even better than you, juliet, that he would ditch you? idk. juliet, maybe you should've just enjoyed your teen years (despite your mum and nurse arguing otherwise).
> 
> sorry, romeo. sorry, juliet. sorry, capulets. sorry, montagues. sorry, shakespeare.
> 
> rant over. happy birthday, taemin; love ya so much!


	62. Haircut

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if I posted this twice somehow...
> 
> I might be on a flight to halfway across the world by the time you read this. Can't wait to maybe read a comment or two when I land!

“Aren’t you gonna ask me at all? Like, what I want for my haircut?” Yoongi asks, sitting on a wooden stool, his toes grasping the plastic bags on the floor. 

“Of course not,” Hoseok replies, already snipping away. From what Yoongi can already tell, it’s not going to be his usual trim. But it doesn’t mean that Hobi’s bad at cutting hair - actually, Yoongi didn’t know about Hoseok’s hair-cutting business until today, when Hoseok pointed out his boyfriend’s overgrown bangs. Yoongi decides not to judge Hoseok for his hair-cutting skills, since he’s actually not seen anyone that’s gotten a haircut from Hoseok.

“How long have you had this business for?” Yoongi asks.

“Like, two months? I tested on Taehyung once but I gave him really choppy bangs and they ended up flat on his face.” Okay, so maybe Yoongi shouldn’t fully trust Hoseok with his hair.

“How did you learn to cut hair?” 

“I didn’t.”

“W-what?” Yoongi falters. He doesn’t mean to come across as condescending, but he really finds that it’s impossible to accept the fact that a guy that’s never learnt to cut hair is currently hacking away at his jet black hair.

“I mean, I watched Seokjin hyung cut his hair, and...and I learnt what not to do...hyung, do you not want me to cut your hair?” Hoseok asks in a small voice. 

“Of course I want you to. Keep going,” Yoongi answers hastily, terrified to hurt Hoseok’s feelings, but equally terrified of the results. 

And rightfully so. I am from the future, and I can confirm that the results are not pretty. 

In the mirror, Yoongi sees hair that's choppy and done a little wildly, but not without love. In fact, Hoseok beams and says something about how it's ‘specially for hyung.’ So Yoongi forces a smile, but he speaks from the heart. “I love it.” Because there's something special about how Hoseok really wanted to impress Yoongi with his haircutting skills (or lack thereof).

Really, Yoongi contemplates putting his hat on, or shaving his hair off, or getting a wig, or borrowing some of Jimin’s spare hair extensions, or asking Taemin to refer him to a hair dye salon - if he has colorful hair, maybe it would distract people from his bad haircut. 

Okay, so maybe all of those things are hurtful. But maybe if he went to an actual hairdresser, then they could fix it for him. He checks his calendar to find a time where Hoseok won't know about this appointment. 

But then he turns his phone off. He doesn't want his hair to be changed. He runs his fingers through his hair, the same way Jimin does. It's not that bad after all. 

And if Yoongi keeps his new haircut, he’ll carry Hoseok’s heart with him everywhere. 

Because Hoseok truly put his heart, his soul, his blood, his sweat, his tears, into cutting his boyfriend’s hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a haircut. Things my hairdresser said that sound like incorrect quotes but he actually said:  
> \- "I'm cutting your bangs. Stop trying to cut them yourself at home."  
> \- "wHY IS YOUR HAIR SO THICC"  
> \- implying that if I didn't stop moving then I would look like Taemin in the lucifer era
> 
> "Hey, but what's wrong with looking like me?" Taemin asks, slightly hurt. 
> 
> "There's a problem if we're talking about the lucifer era, bro," I answer. He gets quiet for a bit, before he nods in agreement.


	63. Wisdom Teeth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING for sex mention/sexual jokes
> 
> Also please be aware that Jungkook (in his drugged up anesthetic state) says he wants to be bisexual so he can make puns like 'BIcycle' (that's just one example). Sorry if it offends you; let me know if you want me to change it.
> 
> enjoy!

“Hey Kook, how are you doing?” Jimin asks when he and Tae get to the dental clinic. “You ready to go home?” Jungkook nods slowly, the anesthetic still taking its impact on him. 

As they walk to the car, Taehyung tells Kookie, “How was it?” And when Jungkook nearly trips over, Tae tells him to take it nice and slow.

Jungkook walks into the car door. Not through the door, but he walks into the door. As in, he crashes right into it. “N-nice and slow. So like last night, when we had-” He is interrupted by Tae’s hand, which is tightly clamped over his swollen mouth so he can’t say more.

After Jimin and Tae get into the car too, they bombard Kook with questions. 

“Do your teeth hurt?”

“What do you think?”

“Want to stop by the store to get ice cream?”

“Ten tubs.”

“Want to buy some shoes from the mall?”

“Got enough already.”

“What were you saying about nice and slow earlier, Kook?”

“Jimin!” Tae exclaims, jokingly hitting the oldest of the three on the shoulder. Jimin giggles and when Kookie begins to explain, Jimin has to pull over because he’s laughing too hard. He nearly hits a lamppost.

“Hyung, you’re a bad driver,” Jungkook slurs. “Let me drive. You nearly hit the lollipop- no, not the lollipop. What’s it called? The popsicle?”

“The lamppost, Kook,” Taehyung interjects helpfully. “And no, babe. You’re way too drugged up.”

“Drugged up? No. The only white powder I use is Similac,” Kookie quips. “I get high on Similac. Hyung?” Tae turns around. “No, not you. The other hyung.”

“Yes, Kookie?” Jimin asks.

“I’m gay.”

“Yes, we know that, Kook. We’ve known that since you started dating Tae.”

“Hyung?”

“Yes?” Jimin replies.

“No, not you. The other hyung.”

“Yes, Kookie?” Tae asks.

“I’m homosexual.”

“Okay.” 

And then out of the blue, Jungkook starts crying. His hyungs turn around, surprised at how sudden his tears are. 

“What’s wrong, Kookie?” Tae asks. “Are people being mean to you?”

“N-no!”

“Then?”

“I want to be bisexual so I can make puns about riding BIcycles and being BIlingual and BIting my tongue by accident and saying ‘goodBI’ to people…”

“Oh, Kookie. But do you like girls?” Jimin asks, giggling slightly at Kookie’s odd reason for wanting to be bi.

“No.”

“Then there you go. You don’t have to change part of yourself,” Tae says. Kookie stops crying for a bit, and then he starts again.

“If it makes you feel better, you told me to remind you afterwards that something that you like a lot is in the freezer,” Jimin chimes in. “I don’t know what it is, but you asked me to remind you after you got your teeth out. Popsicles, maybe?”

And then Jungkook stops crying, for real this time. He looks out of the window, happily humming to himself until they get back to the apartment. 

And then he rushes to the freezer, and he pulls his kazoo out of a ziploc bag. He starts playing Ring Ding Dong on it at full volume.

Jimin looks at Taehyung, his face a mixture of ‘what have I done’ thoughts that come with despair, and ‘little son of a bitch’ thoughts that come with exasperation.

Tae gives a look back to Jimin that tells the older of the two that he brought this on himself.


	64. Supermarket

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> umm just to let you know that there's a brief (and when i say brief i mean really really short) mention of periods (no, not full stops. i mean like girl stuff) 
> 
>  
> 
> featuring yoongi being a true sweetie and no he's not gonna 'become straight' for dawon 
> 
> enjoy :)

Yoongi always wanted to meet Hoseok’s sister. Hoseok always talked about her, saying things about how pretty she was, and how smart she was, and how funny she was, and how kind she was

And for the first time, today, Hoseok introduces the two. “Hyung, this is my sister. Noona, this is Yoongi hyung. I’m dating him.”

“Hi,” Dawon says. Yoongi holds his hand out for a handshake. She just laughs, the same heart-shaped smile and the sunshines and rainbows flowing out. “It's fine, we don't have to be so formal. Actually, that's the first time Hoseok’s called me ‘noona’ in at least three years. Little brat.” She reaches her hand to ruffle Hoseok’s hair, and when she does, he ducks away. 

“Coffee, anyone?” Hoseok offers. In his haste to change the subject, he pours three mugs of coffee before anyone even responds. 

“Yo, Seok, do you have class later?” Yoongi asks. Hoseok nods and flicks his head in Yoongi’s direction to ask the same question to the older of the two. 

“Nope.”

“Ah, well, I can ditch class. It's not like anything important is gonna happen. Besides, it's just practice, and the teacher won't even show, probably.”

“You can't ditch! What if someone in the class snakes on you?” Yoongi replies. Hoseok shrugs. 

“So?”

It's Dawon’s turn to chime in. “You can't just not turn up. What if you fail next year?”

“Wow, thanks, sis. Lots of faith in me, huh?” Hoseok retaliates sarcastically. “Fine, I'll go. Will you guys be okay together?” 

“No, Seok, we’re totally gonna start fighting like two year olds.” Now Yoongi is the sarcastic one. 

“Ha ha, very funny, hyung. Why don't you guys stop by the supermarket?”

Yoongi nods, and then looks at Dawon, who also nods. So, in the rain, the two of them head to the supermarket, for no real reason other than the fact that I need something to continue the plot.

This is turning into a metafiction really quickly.

Does it turn into a metametafiction if I acknowledge the fact that it’s become a metafiction?

Oh gosh, now it’s a metametametafiction and it’s messing my brain up. I need to stop now and continue with the plot. 

 

 

IT’S A METAMETAMETAMETAFICTION NOW.

Sorry, I just had to get that off my chest.

Anyway, the two go to the supermarket together and buy things like crisps, coffee (funnily enough, Yoongi, Hoseok and Dawon all like the same coffee) and chocolate, deviating heavily from the list that Hoseok wrote for them to follow.

When the two approach the cashier, Yoongi turns to Dawon. “Do you need to buy anything?” he asks.

“Um...yeah; I just need to get...girl stuff,” she replies, and the two laugh awkwardly.

“Alright. I’ll wait by the cashier for you, okay?” Dawon nods and goes off to get her stuff, and when she gets back, Yoongi offers to put it in the basket for her so that she won’t get embarrassed. 

When they go back to the car, they put the groceries in the trunk of the car. Suddenly, they feel the presence of a third person with them. 

“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” a familiar but deep voice says from behind. Yoongi turns around. It’s Leather Jacket Man. “Min Yoongi is cheating on his boyfriend. You’re straight? Good on you.”

“Who is he?” Dawon asks.

Out of the corner of his mouth, Yoongi whispers, “I’ll explain later.” And then he straightens up and glares at Leather Jacket Man. “No, I’m not straight. I’m still with my boyfriend, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Oh. But who is this? Who's this pretty girl? Pretty little one. Don’t waste your time with this fag. You deserve better,” Leather Jacket Man catcalls, raising his eyebrows in a way that he thinks is seductive but just makes him look like a giraffe with a migraine. “Come with me, lovely.” 

Yoongi thinks about holding Dawon’s hand, but then he thinks it’s a little bit awkward to hold a girl’s hand when he doesn’t have much attraction to girls. But between deciding what’s comfortable and what’s right, he knows he has to hold Dawon’s hand to protect her from Leather Jacket Man hurting her.

Dawon thinks the same thing. She knows that Yoongi is madly in love with her brother, and her brother is crazy for Yoongi, so holding hands with her brother’s lover feels a little strange. But this man in a leather jacket looks like Thanos, with his huge muscles and purple face. She's sorry to say this, but she knows there is no way Yoongi could come out of a fight with Thanos-looking dude without breaking at least five bones. Holding hands is what has to be done. She takes his hand the same moment he reaches to grab hers. 

“Ooh, hand-holding! You think that's gonna stop me from taking her?” Leather Jacket Man sneers. He shoves Yoongi to the side, pushing our mint-haired, poetic sweetheart onto the ground, shoulder first. It hurts a lot and his pain reflexes produce tears that swim in his eyes. But now isn't the time to be crying on the floor. He needs to protect Dawon as well. 

Dawon, fueled with rage at the sight of Yoongi pushed to the ground, slaps Leather Jacket Man across the face, hard. “Someone's getting upset! You're cute when you're upset,” he smirks. And he stands closer to her, to the point where she can smell beer and cigarettes on him. 

Yoongi stands up, brushes himself off, uses his sleeve to push the tears out of his eyes and opens the car door.

“Noona, get in the car first. I'll deal with him. It's not the first time he's bothered my friends and me, but hopefully today will be the last,” Yoongi says confidently, before he makes sure Dawon is in the car. Then he turns to Leather Jacket Man. 

“You've hurt my friends and me, time and time again. But we've had enough. If I hear anything about you hurting anyone close to me, we will contact the police. I suggest you stay away from us from now on,” Yoongi states coolly, before he turns around, hands in his pockets, and walks back to the car. 

“Are you okay, Yoongi?” Dawon asks. To be truthful, his shoulder hurts a lot, especially because he's had injuries there before. But he nods his head. 

“You're bleeding, though. Your ear,” Dawon says, getting a tissue from her bag. Yoongi touches his ear and when he glances at his long, pale fingers, blood a deep crimson coating his fingertips. He wipes it with the tissue and starts the car.

“You're okay, right?” Yoongi asks. Dawon nods. “He didn't hurt you?” She shakes her head. 

“Who was he?”

“A long-time bully of my friends and me. Hopefully, he won't hurt us anymore, though. I warned him that we would call the police if he does in the future.”

Dawon admires Yoongi’s bravery for finally trying to put a stop to the bullying. She knows that Hoseok is very lucky to have Yoongi, and she's not worried about Hoseok’s future love life because he seems to be in good hands. 

Later that evening, Dawon tells Hoseok everything - how Yoongi held her hand to protect her, how he got shoved, how he made sure she got in the car, how he asked her if she was okay despite the fact her ear was bleeding, how he stood up to Leather Jacket Man, and lastly, how Hoseok is really blessed to have Yoongi. 

After hearing this, Hoseok agrees. He is the luckiest, most blessed man in the world with the gift of Yoongi. 

His ideal type before was described to be ‘a gentleman’. But now, his ideal type is ‘his gentleman’. 

And he knows that someday, he wants to marry his gentleman - his one and only Yoongi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I LOVE JINTRO
> 
> also - should i list namjin as a relationship in the tags because they're a qpr? i really don't know what to do?


	65. Waterpark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one where I wrote a five paragraph essay about kook’s love for tae lmao because I had nothing else to do for 13 hours

“It’ll be fun, Kook. I promise.” 

If it were fun, maybe Kookie wouldn’t be repeating Taehyung’s words in his head over and over again in a vain attempt to reassure him that the ride will not be scary. 

But to be honest, there is just something a little bit scary about going on a water slide that involves getting into an enclosed chamber and standing on a platform that retracts and drops you twenty feet down. 

“I’m scared, hyung,” Jungkook tells Tae, who puts his hand on the younger’s bare shoulder sympathetically. 

“You’ll be fine. It’s really fun; I’ve been on it before,” Tae says. “Want me to go first? I’ll be at the bottom waiting for you.” Kookie nods silently and clutches onto Tae’s other hand. 

By the time they get to the front of the very short queue, Jungkook’s heart is beating really quickly, and it’s not because of the amount of stairs they had to walk up either. 

It’s Tae’s hand that wraps around his own. He blushes a little.

Ready for the five paragraph essay that Kookie writes in his head while waiting to go into the chamber?

When Taehyung gets into the chamber, he waves at Kookie and leans on the wall, before he drops into the slide. And then it’s Kook’s turn. But maybe; maybe it isn’t as scary as he thought. After all, Taehyung would never lie to him. Tae, Jungkook realizes, is his anxiety relief, his happiness, the love of his life. 

When Jungkook’s around Taehyung, he feels safe. It’s a feeling that’s hard; nearly impossible, to replicate. When he’s around Tae, it’s like nothing can hurt him. For example, since he started dating Tae, his phobia of voicing his thoughts beyond his friendship group haven’t disappeared, but he’s readier to conquer them. He knows that such a big fear nearly controlled his life at one of his lowest points, and he also knows that the same fear was conquered with Tae’s help. 

Before he met Taehyung, Jungkook was a little miserable and lonely. Linking back to the previous point, the fact that he was barely even able to speak in class meant that he didn’t have many friends at school. But Taehyung changed all of that. He broke Kookie out of his shell, he introduced friends to Kookie, but most of all, he was the friend that encompassed all the things Jungkook wanted in a friend. Maybe even all the things he needed in a friend. 

But the feeling that Jungkook gets when he’s around Taehyung is incomparable to anything else. When he looks at Tae, it’s as if confetti drizzles from the skies. It feels like glitter surrounds the two of them, as though they were in _Harry Potter_ and they stepped into the fireplace, Floo Powder being thrown around them to teleport them to continents around the world. The world that Jungkook feels like he’s on top of when he’s around Taehyung. 

And then just as he’s about to think of the conclusion, the ride attendant tells him that he can go down to the slide, but only because I’m too lazy to help write the conclusion. 

This keeps turning into a metafic- wait, I’m not going to go there again. 

Jungkook enters the chamber, and the door closes. The attendant throws a thumbs up to tell Kookie that the ride will start soon, and then there’s voice counting down from three. 

And when the voice gets down to one, suddenly, his body feels very heavy. Gravity seems to yank him down the slide, rather than gently pull him to Earth’s centre, but that might be to get his head out of the clouds from thinking of Tae too much. 

Taehyung is right. The slide is really fun. When Jungkook gets to the bottom of the slide, Tae holds his hand out to help the younger of the two stand up. 

And suddenly, the heavy feeling from the drop of the slide disappears, and it’s quickly replaced by the familiar floating feeling that Kook always gets when he’s near Tae. 

It’s almost like he’s falling in love with Tae all over again. And he’s definitely fallen in love with every part of Tae, maybe for the fifth time now, when the two move a little closer for their lips to touch gently, but with more love than either could ever imagine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Video of the type of slide Tae and Kook went on (credits to the owner): https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CyFk4m_u2pE


	66. Water FIght

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a few things...
> 
> 1\. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JUNGKOOK I LOVE YOU SO MUCH HAVE A GOOD LIFE YOU'RE OFFICIALLY ALLOWED TO DRINK IN AMERICA NOW SO YEAH ENJOY LMAO  
> 2\. no but really Kook, you were the first member in BTS i knew because all my friends always talked about you and about how talented you are...let's just say that when I listened to BS&T for the first time (the first song i listened to) I wasn't disappointed...happy birthday; love you so much, thank you for existing <3  
> 3\. this chapter is a mess; i'm speedwriting this to get it out for jk's birthday so I'm sorry about this chapter  
> 4\. love you if you found the harry potter reference  
> 5\. inspired by the time when got7 used their water bottles to have a water fight

To be honest, Yoongi’s never actually been fully drunk. He’s been tipsy, and he could fail a breathalyzer test if he were pulled over, but alcohol has never changed the way he speaks or does things. That’s why he makes such a great Dungeon Master - no matter how much he drinks, he’ll never mess up on making a fun game.

At midnight, it will be Jungkook’s birthday. And all that Kookie’s asked for is to see Yoongi drunk. Like, properly drunk. 

Side note: I actually had to debate whether the previous sentence would be “all that Kookie asked for…” which would imply that he only did it once, or “all that Kookie’s asked for…” which would imply that he’s been doing it constantly.

Well, he only did it once or twice.

A minute.

For the whole month.

Anyway, Namjoon and Seokjin have got this whole birthday bash for Jungkook/get Yoongi drunk event ready. When the other five boys get to the apartment, the sofa, beds, table and bookshelves are all covered in plastic.

“What’s all this, hyung?” Jimin asks, taking his shoes off and glancing at the five boxes of bottled water.

“We’re having a water fight,” Seokjin replies, while opening the door to Namjoon’s study. “Come in here first, guys; we’re gonna get drunk first before we start.”

Half an hour later, Yoongi’s on his third glass of wine. Usually, it would take him just over an hour to get there, so by finishing that much at that speed, he’s red in the face and acting all clingy with Hoseok.

“Finally. I’m gonna have a great birthday,” Jungkook giggles as they proceed back to the living room.

“Alright, the rules are simple,” Seokjin explains. “Just try to throw as much water as you can at each other. Oh, and the TV’s in the study, so let’s avoid that. Oh, and we used our excess shower water for this, so don’t drink it.”

“You didn’t pee in this, right?” Yoongi slurs, putting his lips to one of the bottle’s opening.

“Yoongi, no,” Jin says firmly, moving the bottle away from Yoongi’s mouth. “Let’s just start this mess.”

When I say that all hell breaks loose at this point, I really do mean it. Jungkook gets two bottles of water and literally dunks it all over Seokjin. That does it, because once that happens, the real war starts, and it’s become Everyone versus Jungkook, who sprints off into the bathroom.

Big mistake.

While Seokjin fills the bathtub up, the other six hyungs tackle Kookie to the ground and start tickling him. As one may find out in the time being friends with Jungkook, he’s extremely ticklish, no matter how much he pretends that he’s not.

“Stop, I’m really ticklish!” he giggles, his voice light and happy. It reminds Seokjin of the time when they first met and Jungkook still had a baby face and a high pitched voice, and all Seokjin can think of right now is how much Jungkook’s voice and facial features have changed, and how his personality developed more and more every day.

It reminds Yoongi of the time when he made Kookie feel better after the latter couldn’t stop stammering in his presentation and therefore got a bad grade. It was the time when the hyungs all discovered that Kookie was extremely ticklish, after Yoongi ran his fingers down Jungkook’s ribcage.

It reminds Hoseok of the time when the two of them were in a dance studio and Jimin was talking about a dream his mom had while pregnant with him. Jimin mentioned a chilli pepper on a gigantic tree. Hoseok asked how big the ‘real thing’ was, resulting in Jungkook falling on the floor, laughing while holding his forefinger and thumb apart just by a little. The same laugh that rings through his ears now.

It reminds Namjoon of the stark contrast to how serious Jungkook could be sometimes - sometimes far beyond his age group, and sometimes even beyond his classmates. This laugh was the complete opposite to the way Kookie could be when the two of them - one law student and one philosophy student - would debate about serious issues like euthanasia and stem cell research.

It reminds Jimin of the days they used to spend on the playground together. Those were the days when Jungkook, with his tiny three-year-old legs, would try to run away from a five-year-old Jimin. It was when Jimin could easily yell for Tae to come over and help lift Kookie up for a tickling match, resulting in the happy chuckles that haven’t changed one bit.

It reminds Taehyung of the moment he fell in love with Kookie. It was when he was 15, and Kookie was still 13 - young and innocent, with black hair that fell in his eyes whenever he laughed so hard that he was doubling over. While Kookie’s grown so much, the one thing that’s never changed about him is his laugh; his happiness.

And finally, the bath is all filled up. An alarm clock sounds, confetti comes flying out of the toilet bowl, and Taehyung’s phone displays a new notification, called _THE ULTIMATE BIRTHDAY BOY’S BIRTHDAY._

It’s 12 am. It’s Jungkook’s birthday officially. 

The hyungs throw the 21-year-old into the bath. 

Seokjin brings in a cake into the bathroom for everyone to eat. And while that happens, the rest of the hyungs turn the shower head on again and blast water in Kookie's face, as if to say _Happy Birthday._


	67. Painkiller

**taemint:** strawberry or grape medicine?

 **JMochi:** no medicine :(((

 **taemint:** yes medicine :)))

 **JMochi:** grape please

 **taemint:** you’ll be okay before i get back right?

 **JMochi:** i think so

Jimin switches his phone off and places it next to him on the bed. Of all dates that he has to get neck and back pain, of course it’s when Tae and Kookie are out and he’s all alone, with no one there to keep him company while Taemin’s still at the university.

To be fair, though, it does mean that he gets to spend more time with Taemin.

The door opens. “I bought you the painkillers,” Taemin says. “You okay, babe?” He sits on the bed next to his Jiminie.

“Yeah. I guess so.” He places his head in Taem’s lap. 

“Want me to massage your back?”

“Okay.”

As the younger boy wished, Taemin starts rubbing Jimin’s back. “How did it happen, baby?” 

“Sorry?”

“How did you hurt yourself earlier?” 

“I think I overarched my back doing a back handspring earlier. And then I went to see the doctor and she said that I can’t dance for five days…that means I won’t be able to dance for this entire week.”

He sniffles and wipes his eyes. It sounds obvious to state this, but he’s crying, and Taemin’s heart is shattering.

\---

At face value, Jimin seems like a guy with no worries. He seems like he’s always happy; at least to the people he doesn’t know - the other kids in his dance class, the kids that pass by him in the corridor, even some of his friends’ friends.

But inside, Taemin realizes, Jimin is still a young child that is sensitive. When he can’t get the choreography right, he doesn’t show it, but these thoughts all builds up inside of him until he can’t take it anymore and he breaks down, crying. 

People think he’s brave and strong and all, and he is in some ways, with what he’s gone through with his anxiety and his insomnia and his nut allergies. In that retrospect, he is very strong.

But sometimes, he’s just too harsh towards himself. Really, in a terrible, scary world like this, the person that’s the cruelest to him is himself. Even with all the terrors that the Leather Jacket Man gives him, all the lack of sleep he’s gone through - all that, and there’s nothing that beats his inner critic.

Being so far from his parents isn’t helpful either.

So it’s times like this where Jimin practically needs Taemin for his sanity.

And deep down, Taem knows that he needs Jimin too, for the sake of not feeling lonely.

\---

“It’s not the whole week, babe. Just five days.”

“That’s practically the whole week though!” Jimin cries, pouting miserably. Taemin nods sympathetically, his heart breaking even more. He wraps his arms around his boyfriend’s shoulders.

“I know. I know it feels like a long time. Look, how about we go to the dance studio on Sunday together? That’ll be five days. Just us two, no one else, for the whole day.”

And then Jimin smiles a little. “Okay, hyung.”

Seeing his smile once more is like glue for Taemin’s heart, mending the broken pieces back together. And then he kisses Jiminie on the lips. In a whisper, he says, “I love you, babe.”

“I love you too, hyung.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i miss jjong 
> 
> this weather makes me feel like  
> crap


	68. Happy Holidays

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this is longggg overdue. but enjoy!!  
> thanks for 2018 everyone; may 2019 treat you all well! i can't wait to see what it has in store for me.  
> expect fics of a higher quality soon! love you!

“So. Your first Christmas party with us. How did you find it?” Jimin asks, wringing out a cloth over the kitchen sink.

From a metre away, Taemin puts the mashed potatoes into a Tupperware box. “It was cool. You guys really know how to have fun.” 

After the younger boy wipes the kitchen counter and table, he dips his finger into the potatoes and dabs a bit on Taem’s nose, before giggling and wrapping his arms around his boyfriend’s shoulders.

“You’re so cute,” Taemin says, laughing. “Can you label the boxes?” 

Jimin lets go of the older boy, before digging into the drawer and pulling out a Sharpie, marking each box with its contents. (‘Spud’ for potatoes, ‘trees’ for spinach and ‘bird’ for turkey.)

“Really? ‘Bird?’” Taem giggles. Jimin just shrugs, and puts his arms around Taemin, his head on the latter’s shoulder. 

“Someone’s in a cuddling mood, aren’t they?” 

Jimin nods.

“Just one more dish and then we can, okay?” 

The younger boy seems to like that, and as soon as the last dish is clean, it's almost as if he attacks Taemin with a hug, pulling him onto the sofa and pressing soft kisses on the older boy’s cheeks.

“What’s up? What are you doing?”

Jimin doesn’t say anything for a few minutes. When he does, he puts his lips around Taemin’s ear, and in a soft voice, he whispers, “Thanks for 2018. I love you so much. It’s been a great year.”

“I know,” Taemin replies in equal volume - barely a breath - until he hesitates for a brief moment. “Are you breaking up with me?”

“No, of course not. I love you too much.”

The clock’s bell sounds, piercing the silence. 

“Happy New Year, love.” 

Jimin smiles and presses a kiss on Taemin’s lips. 

“Happy New Year, hyung.”


End file.
